Below the sun-faded football pitches and well-trodden dog-walking trails of Cardiff's Trelai Park, archaeologists and volunteers together, have found more three Bronze Age cremation burials and the outline of a new ancient building. Fascinatingly, these burial pits are filled with cremated human remains. This is just 2 years after the ‘earliest house’ dated to 1500 BC was found in the exact same spot.
There's also a sign of a timber circle further down in the ground, thought to be from the Early Bronze Age (around 2000–1600 BC), bringing fresh depth (and complications) to the already convoluted timeline at the site, reports a press release.
The Caerau and Ely Rediscovering (CAER) Heritage Project, in its fourth phase, has come back into the park with volunteers, trowels, and new questions. These round of digs, headed by Cardiff University, have been firmly based in local outreach: CAER brought together the skills of archaeologists with the interests and enthusiasm of local people, schools, and heritage groups.
Their aim has been to shed light on the lives of Cardiff's earliest known residents, and, no less importantly, to re-attach the city's contemporary communities to its ancient history. What they've discovered beneath the grass may redraw the map of prehistoric Cardiff.
From Roundhouse to Resting Place
Two years ago, volunteers at CAER unearthed an incredibly well-preserved roundhouse, circa 1500 BC—a refined timber-framed dwelling with evident signs of domestic use. Underneath that roundhouse was the imprint of a dwelling even older, indicating that this site had been constructed upon, occupied, and rebuilt yet again over the generations.
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"The discovery of these cremations is extremely exciting," stated Dr. Oliver Davis, co-director of the CAER project and Head of Archaeology and Conservation at Cardiff University. "That the cremations were buried so near to the roundhouse indicates they could have been placed there to commemorate loved family members. It may also indicate the site was of ceremonial value to the people living at the time."
A style of a Bronze Age pit burial, called a cairn, likely opened by a robber during the medieval period in Britain.(Andrew Curtis)
This year's excavation also unearthed a second, though smaller, building located just a few meters away from the initial roundhouses. Though humble in size, it can potentially unlock important knowledge. It might have been occupied by an additional family or served as an ancillary building for food preparation, tool storage, or the pursuit of crafts.
These hints indicate not only scattered homes, but a larger and more complex settlement than previously conceived, reports The BBC.
"This place… is giving us a glimpse into some of the very first Cardiff residents who were living here in Caerau and Ely more than three thousand years ago," Davis added.
A Living Site, A Community's Story
The location of Trelai Park is just 200 meters from an established Roman villa and under a mile from Caerau Hillfort, the nationally important Neolithic, Iron Age, Roman, and medieval site. That steady human activity is reinforcing what the CAER project has been hinting at for years: this area of Cardiff has been at the heart of human history for millennia, and it's all still right under our feet.
But it is also a tale of the people on the surface. Volunteers, some of whom live in the area, are an integral part of the excavation. "It's really interesting," said Alice Clarke, 36, of Caerau, who has volunteered for five years. "It's given me confidence—it's good to get out and meet friends."
Dan Queally, a Cardiff University archaeology student, spent the year volunteering with CAER while researching his dissertation.
“It’s not just about the archaeology that I’ve learned about,” he said. “It’s about seeing the difference a project like this can make to people here and now. It’s been a big perspective shift for me.”
Late Bronze Age hoard from the northern UK and Wales area. (The Portable Antiquities Scheme/ The Trustees of the British Museum/CC BY-SA 2.0)
Dr. David Wyatt, co-director of CAER, believes this is only the start.
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"The discoveries at Trelai Park just keep rolling in. If you put these latest ones together with the Roman villa within walking distance and the sporting heritage more recently here, it's not hard to make a case for Trelai being one of the most significant parks in terms of heritage in South Wales."
For Cardiff West Community High School, situated just meters from the site, the project brings learning to life. "Our pupils learn about the area's history in which they live and they, literally, get their hands on the past," concludes headteacher Mike Tate.
Top image: Aerial capture of Trelai Park, where the dig is underway. Source: Vivian Thomas
By Sahir
References
Buckland, C. 2025. Bronze Age burial site found under park. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c89e7ng0q8eo.
Cardiff University. 2025. Archaeology volunteers uncover Bronze Age burial site. Available at: https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/news/view/2921484-archaeology-volunteers-uncover-bronze-age-burial-site.
