Cymru

cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/28031394

A medieval cemetery unearthed near Cardiff Airport is continuing to confound archaeologists, as the mysteries surrounding it are multiplying.

The discovery of the site, dating to the 6th or 7th Century, was announced last year, with dozens of skeletons found lying in unusual positions with unexpected artefacts.

Now researchers have learned nearly all of those buried in the cemetery are women, and while their bones show signs of wear and tear - indicating they carried out heavy manual work - there are also surprising signs of wealth and luxury.

Another unexpected find has been a woman tossed in a ditch, in stark contrast to all the other people who were buried with great care.

"Every time we think we understand something, something else crops up and the picture gets more intriguing," said Andy Seaman from Cardiff University, who is leading the project.

cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/25446708

Yesterday, Bleeding Cool reported on London-based comic book creator R.E. Burke, or Becky Burke, whose family is in Portskewett, Monmouthshire in Wales, being held in detention by I.C.E. in Washington state in the USA, after she crossed from the US to Canada and back again on a tourist visa, as part of a four-month backpacking trip across North America. Despite attempts to get her released and sent home, she has remained in confinement in onerous conditions for the past eleven days.

Her father, Paul Burke, talking to BBC Wales told them that R.E. Burke had been exchanging accommodation for helping host families "around the house", and he believes authorities may have suspected she broke the terms of her tourist visa. In his appeal, published by Bleeding Cool, he asked for UK authorities to get involved, and it seems that this is now happening, as the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) have confirmed to the BBC that they are supporting a British national in this situation and were "in contact with the local authorities".

Paul Burke advised travellers to be "very careful" about their visa requirements but says he could not understand why she was "locked up and she's in an orange prison jumpsuit whilst the paperwork gets sorted out" and that what was meant to be a life-changing backpacking trip "has turned into a nightmare". Previously, he states that R.E. Burke had visited New York and Portland, where she spent time with a host family, helping with household chores in return for accommodation. She then travelled to Seattle with plans to travel to Vancouver in Canada to stay with another family, "just like a cultural exchange". But the Canadian authorities then denied her entry as they were concerned she may try to work illegally and returned her across the border. It was then that US officials told her she was being detained as, according to her father, they considered "that host family cultural exchange to be work… So basically she couldn't go into Canada, she wasn't allowed in the US". That led to her being taken by US Homeland Security to an immigration detention centre in Tacoma, Washington. Paul Burke says that R.E. Burke has described the conditions in the immigration centre as "horrendous… at first she was just distraught. She was inconsolable. She is allowed to ring out using a shared iPad but we can't call her." And because their family is not American, they cannot add money to her inmate account for her to buy essentials, so have reached out to American friends for help. Paul Burke says that R.E. Burke has told him that she just wants to come home and has requested voluntary departure but has received "radio silence". They have been told voluntary departure has to be approved by a judge, but do not know "how to make that happen". Her parents are in daily contact with the British consulate in San Francisco, the nearest one to the detention facility, but "official channels can't get a clear answer about what is going on".

cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/25409806

A photograph of an animal at the edge of a field in Bausley Hill, near Crew Green, sparked speculation that a “panther” or “big cat” was prowling around the countryside.

The animal was spotted by resident Bethany Jones, who said she was “shocked” to see the animal in the private field and was only able to take a photo before the animal disappeared again.

She said: “I walked into our living room and saw whatever it was running along the bottom of the field.

“At first I thought it was a dog because of its size, which was worrying on its own because we knew that field had a lot of sheep in it at the time, but as I got a closer look it seemed to move more like a cat.

“But I could also see that it was obviously large as cats go, so much that I couldn’t believe it was a domestic cat as I was looking at it from across the field.

“I only managed to catch a hurried photo of it before it jumped over the fence and disappeared, but I remember being completely shocked at how large it was.

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“We went out afterwards and found a footprint, which was first spotted by my daughter, so we took a photo of that as well.

"I showed it to a nearby farmer who is a friend of ours, and they said it looked too big to have been made by an average house cat.”

cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/25238685

Ocean Way is the one I'm thankful for. Almost everyone drives at 30 on there anyway despite the 20 limit.

cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/24673149

The former leader of Reform UK in Wales has appeared in court accused of accepting bribes for making statements in the European Parliament that would benefit Russia.

Nathan Gill, 51, from Llangefni on Anglesey, is facing eight counts of bribery and one count of conspiracy to commit bribery.

The court heard that Mr Gill, who was a UKIP and later a Brexit Party MEP between 2014 and 2020, was alleged to have received money from his co-defendant and former Ukrainian politician Oleg Voloshyn.

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The defendant is alleged to have been tasked by Mr Voloshyn on at least eight occasions to make specific statements in return for money.

The court heard the statements, made in the European Parliament and in opinion pieces to news outlets such as 112 Ukraine, were "supportive of a particular narrative" which would "benefit Russia regarding events in Ukraine".

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A lawyer for the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) told the court that Mr Gill was stopped at Manchester Airport on 13 September 2021 under anti-terror legislation.

His mobile phone was seized and evidence was found that he was in a professional relationship with Mr Valoshyn and had agreed to "receive or accept monies in return for him performing activities as an MEP", the court heard.

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He served as UKIP's leader for Wales and was briefly an independent before joining Reform's predecessor organisation, the Brexit Party, in 2019.

The north Wales politician led Reform's 2021 Welsh Parliament election campaign.

It is not clear precisely when Gill ceased being leader of Reform UK Wales, but the job has not existed for some time.

cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/24106411

A computer expert who has battled for a decade to recover a £600m bitcoin fortune he believes is buried in a council dump in south Wales is considering buying the site so he can hunt for the missing fortune.

James Howells lost a high court case last month to force Newport city council to allow him to search the tip to retrieve a hard drive he says contains the bitcoins.

The council has since announced plans to close and cap the site, which would almost certainly spell the end of any lingering hopes of reaching the bitcoins. The authority has secured planning permission for a solar farm on part of the land.

Howells, 39, said on Monday it had been “quite a surprise” to hear of the closure plan. He said: “It [the council] claimed at the high court that closing the landfill to allow me to search would have a huge detrimental impact on the people of Newport, whilst at the same time they were planning to close the landfill anyway.

“I expected it would be closed in the coming years because it’s 80/90% full – but didn’t expect its closure so soon. If Newport city council would be willing, I would potentially be interested in purchasing the landfill site ‘as is’ and have discussed this option with investment partners and it is something that is very much on the table.”

cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/22811410

A Welsh rewilding charity backed by Iolo Williams has successfully raised over £90,000 following a community appeal to help establish Wales’ largest ecosystem restoration project.

Tir Natur (‘Nature’s Land’) made headlines in November 2024 after launching a crowdfunder to help secure over 1000 acres of marginal upland farm to showcase rewilding and the importance of large grazing animals in restoring depleted ecosystems.

On 6 January 2025, Tir Natur’s appeal, which began with an initial target of £20,000, ended having raised £70,000 from 662 individual donations , including matchfunding from Aviva.

The crowdfunder also offered a reward of sponsoring a 3 x 3m square of land through What Three Words for donations of £50 or more which are still available to sponsor.

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Funds raised will contribute towards the deposit and associated costs, due in Spring 2025. The location of the land will be revealed after this point.

Besides rewilding with native broadleef trees and other native fauna, they hope to introduce ancient breeds of grazing animals to the land to roam and shape the landscape, allowing wildlife to flourish alongside thriving communities, while informing and inspiring further nature-led restoration.

More than anything, they say, “it would offer hope for nature – gobaith i natur”.

The Danish word hygge, which summons a feeling of cosy, fire-crackling contentedness, has done its fair share for tourism in Scandinavia as well as sparking a string of self-help guides.

Now Visit Wales is aiming to draw tourists to its hills, valleys, coastlines and cities by harnessing the lovely Welsh word hwyl, which it defines as a “deep state of joy that comes from being totally immersed in the moment”, in its 2025 publicity drive.

Visit Wales says hwyl can be found in places and scenarios that mean most to those taking part, whether it be exploring a forest, gazing at stars, surfing or attending a music festival.

Hollywood actor Michael Sheen is funding a new theatre company to fill the gap left by the folding of National Theatre Wales.

He will be the artistic director of Welsh National Theatre, which will aim to tell "big stories on big stages for big audiences".

The first production, due in autumn 2026 and starring Sheen himself, will be announced in the coming months.

National Theatre Wales said it had "ceased to exist" last month after £1.6m in cuts to its core funding from Arts Council Wales.

A judge has thrown out a man's attempt to sue a council to recover from a rubbish tip a Bitcoin hard drive that is now worth about £598m.

James Howells had argued that his former partner had mistakenly dumped the hard drive containing a Bitcoin wallet in 2013, and he wanted to access the site and recover the cryptocurrency.

But Newport council asked a High Court judge to strike out Mr Howells' legal action to access the landfill or get £495m in compensation.

Judge Keyser KC said there were no "reasonable grounds" for bringing the claim and "no realistic prospect" of succeeding at a full trial.

Reacting to the decision, Mr Howells said he was "very upset".

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The landfill holds more than 1.4m tonnes of waste, but Mr Howells said he had narrowed the hard drive's location to an area consisting of 100,000 tonnes.

Mr Howells has speculated that, by next year, the Bitcoin on his hard drive could be worth £1bn.

cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/22395238

The quiet Welsh village of Cyffylliog in Denbighshire is the last place you’d expect to see a crowd of eager bargain-hunters—especially ones staring perplexedly at an empty field. But thanks to a prank on Google Maps, the tiny community has become an unlikely hotspot for confused tourists and delivery drivers, all searching for a mythical Aldi supermarket. The debacle began when an unknown jokester placed a fake Aldi location in the heart of the village on Google Maps. Ever since, a steady stream of hopeful shoppers has been arriving, guided by their smartphones, only to find themselves standing in the middle of a grassy field, miles away from the nearest checkout lane.

The chaos reached new heights last week when a milk tanker, also misdirected by Google Maps, became stuck on a narrow village lane while attempting to locate the fictitious store. Residents were left with blocked roads for hours as the tanker had to be carefully maneuvered out, leaving locals both frustrated and incredulous.

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Residents, however, are less amused. “We’ve had people knocking on doors asking where the Aldi is, delivery vans with groceries trying to find a nonexistent loading dock, and even a bloke with a pallet of bread who thought he’d been hired to stock shelves!” said Sioned Davies, a local.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ca/post/36166120

I've just started learning Cymraeg on Duolingo, but I have a question. Should I try and use a Welsh accent when I'm speaking the language, or would it be better to use my English accent (which is sort of casual RP with a hint of Northumbrian)?

Up a single-track road from a small village in Ceredigion and past some "ghostly" 12th-century ruins in one of the most remote locations in Wales lies one of the 16 greatest world wonders you've never heard of.

The Teifi Pools are a set of glacial lakes and reservoirs around 1,500ft above sea level just out of the small village of Pontrhydfendigaid and have been described as being "so remote you might be on the moon".

Earlier this year, the landmark was featured among The Telegraph's list of the greatest world wonders you've never heard of along with other sites in locations like Cambodia, Peru and Greece.

Introducing the list, the news outlet said: "There are several overused phrases in the broad lexicon of travel writing, but few quite as regular in their deployment as 'hidden gem'.

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The Teifi Pools, located in Ceredigion, was one of only two place in the UK to be named among the greatest world wonders you've never heard of by The Telegraph.

Describing the Welsh landmark, the news outlet said it's "so remote you might be on the moon, and so deep they were once considered unfathomable".

The Telegraph continued: "Ever wanted to be the person in those car adverts?

"The one driving as the camera pans out to reveal a jaw-dropping hill-scape – operatic sky stretching across windswept moors, and reflected in moody expanses of water.

"Of course you have. And you can, just follow the single-track road from the small village of Pontrhydfendigaid, skirting the ghostly ruins of Strata Florida, (a 12th-century Cistercian Abbey, possibly once home to the Holy Grail), and up to the Teifi Pools.

"These glacial lakes and reservoirs are 1,500ft above sea level: so remote you might be on the moon, and so deep they were once considered unfathomable.

cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/21596229

Richard Lacey, 70, appeared at Llandrindod Wells Magistrates’ Court this week, where he pleaded guilty to a single charge of drink driving, in Powys, last month.

Lacey, who is now retired but revealed he actually helped design breathalysers when he was in employment, had to use one of the devices after police were called to the scene of a road traffic collision on the A479 near Talgarth on November 23.

Lacey had mounted a roundabout in his Peugeot 208 Gt Puretech, damaging a wheel and leaving the vehicle completely immobile.

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Representing himself at the hearing, Lacey said: “I’ve really got nothing to say. I misjudged how much I’d drunk.

“I had a couple of glasses of wine with lunch and a few pints of beer.

“I’m retired. I designed breathalysers and used to work with the police.”

Lacey was disqualified from driving for 13 months; he can reduce this ban by 13 weeks if he completes a drink drive awareness course.

He was also fined £600 and told to pay a £240 surcharge and £85 costs.

Wales fans and players are celebrating after they made history by reaching a major women's tournament for the first time.

After a level first leg in Cardiff, Wales came out on top against the Republic of Ireland in the second leg, securing their place in the 2025 Euros.

Wales' record goalscorer and cap holder Jess Fishlock described the win as being the "proudest moment of her life".

A large sinkhole that forced more than 30 homes to be evacuated is still growing, a council leader has said.

The void emerged on Nant Morlais in Pant, Merthyr Tydfil, on Sunday morning and council leader Brent Carter said on Monday that "more cracks are coming across the road and into walls and gardens".

He estimated the hole was "probably 30-40ft (9-12m) deep and five metres (16ft) wide".

Simon Williams, whose family owns the bungalow where the sinkhole appeared, said it could be months until residents of the cul-de-sac could return home and he felt "desperately sorry for all the residents who've had to get out of their homes just before Christmas".

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Mr Carter said two landslides caused the problem, adding: "A couple of residents heard a loud bang.

"Unfortunately, it wasn’t reported, so we couldn’t do anything immediately, but that looks like that’s what caused the collapse, when everything came down from the mountain and washed through the culvert."

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Andrew Farrant, a BGS geologist, said the sinkhole likely resulted from a collapsed culvert and recent heavy rainfall, rather than a natural geological cause and it was "not just a case of filling the hole".

He explained that repairs would involve stabilizing the void, excavating the site and reinstating the culvert to ensure the stream can flow safely.

Wales could be about to make footballing history over the next two games.

Wales need to come out on top against the Republic of Ireland across the two games to ensure qualification for their first major tournament.

A record number of tickets have been sold for the first leg, at Cardiff City Stadium on Friday evening.

Rhian Wilkinson's side will be hoping the crowd of more than 16,000 will help them secure a victory to put them in the best possible situation for the second leg in Dublin on 3 December.

The prize? A spot at Euro 2025.

[Update 29/11] Wales and Republic of Ireland settled for a 1-1 draw in the Welsh capital that leaves both nations still dreaming of a place at Euro 2025.

The two nations will now meet in Dublin at the Aviva Stadium on Tuesday, 3 December with all still to play for after a cagey and absorbing contest in Cardiff.

Eryri National Park has unveiled its new Welsh language logo as the authority votes to permanently ditch the English version.

It comes following a report presented to the national park’s council on Wednesday (November 13) which concluded reclaiming the Welsh name had been a success for the area.

Eryri National Park Authority voted to use Yr Wyddfa for Wales’ highest mountain, rather than Snowdon, and Eryri, rather than Snowdonia in November 2022 following a petition from local residents.

The authority yesterday approved a proposal to exclusively use “Eryri” in its official logo and will prioritise the Welsh names Eryri and Yr Wyddfa in all communications going forward.

cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/19493894

A record-breaking 75-mile GPS image of a penis has been scrawled across south Wales on the exercise app Strava to raise money for charity.

The outline of the male genitalia – drawn by the on-foot journey of Terry Rosoman – stretches from Hay-on-Wye to Abergavenny via a double circuitous route taking in Crickhowell and Llangenny.

It was completed in less than 24 hours by Rosoman, 38, a marketing director from south Wales, to raise money and awareness about men’s mental health issues for Movember.

He said he chose to run the giant phallus to help gain the attention of his “target demographic”. He claimed most men find the shape “hilarious”.

Donation page

In 2015, David Cameron’s government decided to define HS2 as an “England and Wales project”. In technical jargon this means they applied a 0% comparability factor for Wales to HS2 spending. That may seem hard to decipher, but what you need to know is this: though it sounds fairly innocuous, designating HS2 an “England and Wales project” was utterly devastating to Wales because it meant that Cymru did not receive any consequential funding from the project.

Compare this with Scotland and Northern Ireland, which were each treated to a delightful comparability factor of 100%. This meant that for every £1 spent on HS2, they both got a population-based share of all of it. It is hard to put an exact figure on how much this will add up to, because the UK government keeps axing parts of the project and the costs keep rising, but roughly, Scotland will bank in the region of £6.5bn-£7bn. If the same rules were applied to Wales, it would have been on course for about £4bn.

The eagle-eyed will have noticed that the HS2 “England and Wales project” has the significant flaw that HS2 doesn’t actually go through Wales. In fact, not a centimetre of track is on the western side of Offa’s Dyke. So how can successive UK governments justify defining it as a Welsh project?

cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/18274702

The archaeologists unearthed structural features and materials dating to the Roman era and the early Medieval period during an excavation at a site near the Holt Roman tile and pottery works in Wrexham, North East Wales.

They also found the structure of an early Medieval longhouse — a long, narrow, building for communal dwelling.

“We were very hopeful of finding evidence of Roman life due to previous discoveries and geophysical surveys in the area, not to mention the presence of the legionary tileworks a few fields away, but did not expect our excavations to uncover what is believed to be an early Medieval longhouse,” said Dr. Caroline Pudney, senior lecturer in archaeology at the University of Chester.

“The discovery of a Roman settlement is extremely important in building a bigger picture of Roman Wrexham and although early Medieval longhouses have been found in other parts of Wales, to unearth evidence of such a building in North East Wales is extremely rare.”

cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/18200295

Online searches for big cats in Wales have surged following an increase in alleged sightings.

Research by AussieBoots has revealed that Cardiff and Wrexham saw a 100% increase in searches for ‘Big Cats UK’ from 2021 to 2023 – with Swansea seeing a 50% rise.

It comes after multiple big cat sightings have been reported in the press across the country in recent months and years.

The term ‘big cat’ is usually used to describe large wild felines such as tigers, lions, panthers, jaguars, leopards, cheetahs and cougars.

Big cats such as pumas are solitary and their hunting range is dozens of miles.

When big cats were banned as pets in the 1970s, it was legal to release them into the countryside to avoid expensive rehoming costs.

Experts believe that owners from across the UK travelled to Wales to release their cats in to the remote environment.

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A BBC study collated more than 100 big cat sightings in 18 months across north and mid Wales.

Another study recorded 123 Welsh sightings over two years with frequent reports of big cats in Flintshire, Denbighshire, Conwy and Gwynedd.

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Wales overall has seen a 50% increase in internet searches for big cats whilst Northern Ireland was the country that saw the highest rise in searches (133%).

Scotland came second (127%), and England came third (84%).

The UK saw an 84% increase overall.

Pete Bryden from AussieBoots said: “The increase in big cat sightings across the UK has certainly captured the public’s imagination.

“It’s fascinating to see how interest has grown, particularly in Wales where searches have surged.

“Whether these sightings are fact or folklore, it’s clear that the British countryside still holds plenty of mysteries for us to discover.”