Dolaucothi Gold Mines

The Dolaucothi Estate (also Dolaucothy) is situated about 1 mile (1.6 km) north-west of the village of Caio up the Cothi Valley in the community of Cynwyl Gaeo, in Carmarthenshire, Wales. Dolaucothi means ‘the meadows of the Cothi’. The medieval manor house overlooking the fast-flowing River Cothi was rebuilt by the Johnes family and, in 1873, the estate encompassed 3,172 acres (1,284 ha). The park is registered at Grade II on the Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales. The house was demolished in 1952. Dolaucothi House could be approached by two drives of considerable length, that to the east skirting the Roman gold mines (Ogofau, near Pumsaint), while that to the west was flanked by four lines of ancient oaks — the "very noble oaks" remarked upon by George Borrow (1803–1881) after walking along the avenue in 1854 for a glimpse of the house, charmed by the thought that "he had never seen a more pleasing locality".

Pumsaint is a village in Carmarthenshire, Wales, halfway between Llanwrda and Lampeter on the A482 in the valley of the Afon Cothi. It forms part of the extensive estate of Dolaucothi, which is owned by the National Trust. The name is Welsh for "Five Saints" (Pump being the word for "five"). The name is derived from the stone block at the nearby gold mines, opposite Ogofau Lodge, which has four sides, each of which has hollows probably caused by pestle impacts. It was used as an anvil for crushing gold ore in the Roman period. Excavations in the 1990s of the area adjacent to the stone showed that the stone was originally horizontal and used as an anvil for a water-powered crushing mill. There are many parallels from Spanish mines of the Roman period with similar stone anvils.

Luentinum or Loventium refers to the Roman fort at Pumsaint, Carmarthenshire. The 1.9 hectares (4.7 acres) site lies either side of the A482 in Pumsaint and was in use from the mid 70s AD to around 120 AD. It may have had particular functions associated with the adjacent Dolaucothi Gold Mines. It formed part of a network of at least 30 forts across Wales, such as Llandovery, Bremia/Llanio near Llanddewi Brefi, and the fort at Llandeilo. The Roman road Sarn Helen, which runs past the Llanio and Llandovery forts was nearby. The name Luentinum is mentioned in Ptolemy's, 2nd century AD 'Geography', and is thought to relate to washing in reference to the Pumsaint gold mines. The fort appears to have been founded as a square 5½ acre (2.25 hectare) Roman auxiliary fort controlling the adjoining gold mines, around AD 75 when Frontinus was governor of Roman Britain and active in subduing the Silures of Roman Wales. The fort had an earthen rampart and double ditch. The date of first construction was determined from a Samian ware inkwell with stamp found in the early 1970s where the river bank had cut into the fort. On the east bank of the River Cothi, a few hundred yards south of Pumsaint village, was discovered a small double-roomed building with hypocaust and plain tessellated floors. It was probably the military bath-house. The internal buildings of the fort underwent a number of rebuildings until the fort was abandoned around 140. The surrounding civilian vicus then took over the area and, no doubt, also the mines. The fort is situated about halfway between similar forts at Llandovery to the east and Bremia or Llanio to the west, with Llandeilo to the south. The fort was at the meeting point of several Roman roads in mid Wales. These were the Ffordd Fleming which ran from Loventium to Menapia (St David's), the more southerly Via Julia which also came from St David's and met the Sarn Helen near Loventium, and the Hen Fford (old road) which came from Maridunum (Carmarthen). The name Luentinum appears only in Ptolemy's Geographia. It appears to be related to the Brythonic word for 'washing', as suggested by George Boon of the National Museum of Wales. It refers to the hushing (hydraulic mining) methods used on the site for extraction of the gold, and the washing tables used to concentrate the gold dust and nuggets. It is one of the best examples of the application of advanced Roman technology in Britain, and compares with other Roman mines in Europe such as those at Verespatak in Transylvania and Las Médulas in northern Spain. It is a site of international significance and importance.

Cynwyl Gaeo is a parish and community located in rural Carmarthenshire, Wales, near the boundary with Ceredigion, in the upper Cothi valley about halfway between Lampeter and Llandovery. The population of the village at the United Kingdom Census 2011 was 940. It includes the villages of Caio (Caeo), Crug-y-bar, Cwrtycadno, Ffarmers and Pumsaint. Historically it was part of the commote of Caeo, which in turn was part of Y Cantref Mawr ("The Great Hundred"), a division of Ystrad Tywi. It is the location of the Dolaucothi Gold Mines, part of Dolaucothi Estate, whose owner, John Johnes, was murdered by his butler in 1876. The mansion house was demolished in 1952. The parish church of St Cynwyl in the village of Caeo is a Grade II* listed building.

The Afon Twrch is a short river in Carmarthenshire, West Wales. It joins the River Cothi (itself a left-bank tributary of the River Towy) at the village of Pumsaint, near to which are the Roman gold mines of Dolaucothi.

Caio (or Caeo) is a village in the county of Carmarthenshire, south-west Wales, sited near to the Dolaucothi Gold Mines.

Crugybar is a village in Carmarthenshire, Wales, located between Talley and Pumsaint. It is roughly of equal distance from Lampeter, Llandovery and Llandeilo. It is within the parish of Llanwrda.

Afon Annell (River Annell) is a small river in Carmarthenshire, Wales. It is a tributary of the Afon Cothi. Some of the waters of the Annell were previously diverted via aqueduct to serve the Roman gold mine at Dolaucothi.

Aberbowlan is a small village in Carmarthenshire. It is located in the north of the county, 8 miles (13 km) to the north-east of the town of Llandovery on a road that links Hafod Bridge on the A482 and Caio.

Edwinsford is a small hamlet situated about the historic Edwinsford Estate and fishery on the river Cothi, a tributary of the River Tywi, in Carmarthenshire, Wales. It lies to the north of Talley, at the confluence of roads toward Llansawel and Crugybar. The manor house, established in the 1680s by Sir Rice Williams, High Sheriff of Carmarthenshire, is now derelict. There is however an active fishery. The park to the former house is registered at Grade II on the Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales.

The Talley television relay station is sited on high ground to the north of the village of Talley in Carmarthenshire. It was originally built in 1986 as a fill-in relay for UHF analogue television covering the community of Talley. It consists of a 17 m wooden telegraph pole standing on a hillside which is itself about 220 m above sea level. The transmissions are beamed southwest and northwest to cover all the small settlements of the area and to provide a signal for the Llansawel repeater about 5 km to the northwest. The Talley transmission station is owned and operated by Arqiva. Talley transmitter re-radiates the signal received off-air from Carmel about 20 km to the southwest. When it came, the digital switchover process for Talley duplicated the timing at Carmel with the first stage taking place on 26 August 2009 and with the second stage being completed on 23 September 2009. After the switchover process, analogue channels had ceased broadcasting permanently and the Freeview digital TV services were radiated at an ERP of 2 W each.

The Llansawel television relay station is sited on high ground to the north of the village of Llansawel in Carmarthenshire, South Wales. It was originally built in 1986 as a fill-in relay for UHF analogue television. It consists of a 17 m wooden telegraph pole standing on a hillside which is itself about 160 m above sea level. The transmissions are beamed southwards. The Llansawel transmission station is owned and operated by Arqiva. Llansawel transmitter is classed as an indirect off-air relay of Carmel. It re-radiates a signal received off-air from Talley about 5 km to the southeast, which itself is a direct off-air relay of Carmel. When it came, the digital switchover process for Llansawel duplicated the timing at Carmel with the first stage taking place on 26 August 2009 and with the second stage being completed on 23 September 2009. After the switchover process, analogue channels had ceased broadcasting permanently and the Freeview digital TV services were radiated at an ERP of 2 W each.