![Andy Seaman FHEA ACIfA FSA](https://profiles-cardiff.imgix.net/attachments/2103?w=200&h=200&auto=format&crop=faces&fit=crop&q=90")
Dr Andy Seaman
(he/him)
FHEA ACIfA FSA
- Media commentator
- Available for postgraduate supervision
Teams and roles for Andy Seaman
Reader in Early Medieval Archaeology
Overview
Andy is a specialist in the archaeology of Late Antique and Early Medieval Britain with specific interests in the Insular west and north. An active field archaeologist, he has previously directed excavations on the Dinas Powys 'southern banks' and at Mount St Albans near Caerleon. In 2021 he started the Fonmon Castle Landscape Archaeology Project, and is currently leading excavations (with Dr Tudur Davies) on the Llancadle South early medieval cemetery and other sites within the castle estate. He has published widely on a range of topics and is currently working on a monograph on hillforts in early medieval western Britain.
Publication
2025
- Shiner, M. and Seaman, A. 2025. New pieces, a high-status early medieval settlement in the Welsh Marches: preliminary results from the 1996-2000 excavations. Archaeology in Wales
- Seaman, A., Davies, T., Morgan, J. and Tideswell, E. 2025. Llancadle South: An early medieval cemetery complex in the eastern Vale of Glamorgan. Preliminary results from the 2022-25 excavations. Archaeology in Wales
- Seaman, A., Davies, T. and Rippon, S. 2025. Rural landscape and settlement in the Dinas Powys environs: High resolution analysis of a Roman and medieval pollen sequence at Nant yr Argae in the eastern Vale of Glamorgan. Medieval Settlement Research 40, pp. 107-119. (10.5284/1137887)
2024
- Seaman, A., Morgan-James, R., Sinnott, S., Comeau, R. and Shiner, M. 2024. The Medieval period: Agriculture, assembly and burial. In: Guilbert, D., Morgan-Jones, R. and Sinnott, S. eds. A Journey Through 6000 years of History: Investigations along the A4226 Five Mile Lane Improvement Scheme. Red River Archaeology Group
2023
- Campbell, E., Seaman, A., Lane, A. and Noble, G. 2023. A new chronology for the Welsh hillfort of Dinas Powys. Antiquity 97(369), pp. 1548-1563. (10.15184/aqy.2023.156)
- Seaman, A. 2023. Rulers and ‘royal courts’ in late antique Wales and southwest England. In: Lavan, L. and Crawford, P. eds. Imperial Archaeologies. Leiden: Brill
- Comeau, R. and Seaman, A. 2023. Research framework for the archaeology of Early Medieval Wales c. Ad 400–1070. Discussion Paper. CIFA Wales/Cymru.
- Seaman, A. 2023. Hillforts in Southern Britain: Power and Place in the Late Antique Landscape. Presented at: Congrès International d’Histoire et d’Archéologie, Roquebrune-sur-Argens, France, 19-25 October 2019Perchement et réalités fortifiées en Méditerranée et en Europe (Vème-Xème siècles) – Formes, rythmes, fonctions et acteurs. Archaeopress pp. 420-432.
- Comeau, R., Seaman, A. and Bloxam, A. 2023. Plague, climate and faith in Early Medieval Western Britain: Investigating narratives of change. Medieval Archaeology 67(1), pp. 1-28. (10.1080/00766097.2023.2204655)
2022
- Seaman, A. 2022. Late antique hillfort occupation in south Britain: chronology, context, and interpretation. Presented at: Intentions and Meaning: A comparative view of Late Antique Hilltop sites in Europe, Ljubljana, Slovenia, 22-24 September 2021 Presented at Pavlovič, D. and Heinrich-Tamáska, O. eds.Book of Abstracts - International Workshop - Intentions and Meaning: A comparative view of Late Antique Hilltop sites in Europe. National Museum of Slovenia pp. 21-23.
- Richardson, A. et al. eds. 2022. Transitions and relationships over land and sea in the Early Middle Ages of Northern Europe. Canterbury: Canterbury Archaeological Trust.
- Seaman, A. 2022. Fonmon Castle landscape project: geophysical survey on land west of Fonmon Castle. Archaeology in Wales 61, pp. 65-70.
2020
- Seaman, A. 2020. Finnaun y Doudec Seint: A holy spring in the Early Medieval kingdom of Brycheiniog. In: Ray, C. ed. Sacred Waters: A Cross-Cultural Compendium of Hallowed Springs and Holy Wells. London: Routledge, pp. 194-210.
- Seaman, A. and Thomas, L. S. 2020. Hillforts and power in the British Post-Roman West: A GIS analysis of Dinas Powys. European Journal of Archaeology 23(4), pp. 547–566. (10.1017/eaa.2020.19)
- Seaman, A. 2020. The Llangorse Charter material. In: Lane, A. and Redknap, M. eds. The Llangorse Crannog: An Early Medieval Island Residence of the Kings of Brycheiniog. Oxford: Oxbow, pp. 414-421.
2019
- Comeau, R. and Seaman, A. 2019. Introduction. In: Comeau, R. and Seaman, A. eds. Living off the Land: Agriculture in Wales c. 400-1600 AD. Oxford: Oxbow, pp. 1-14.
- Seaman, A. 2019. Landscape, settlement and agriculture in early medieval Brycheiniog: the evidence from the Llandaff Charters. In: Comeau, R. and Seaman, A. eds. Living off the Land: Agriculture in Wales c. 400-1600 AD. Oxford: Oxbow, pp. 153-173.
- Comeau, R. and Seaman, A. eds. 2019. Living off the land: Agriculture in Wales c. 400-1600 AD. Oxford: Oxbow.
- Seaman, A. 2019. Llywarch Hen’s Dyke: Place and narrative in Early Medieval Wales. Offa’s Dyke Journal 2019(1), pp. 96-113. (10.23914/odj.v1i0.252)
- Seaman, A. 2019. Power, place and territory in early Medieval South-East Wales. In: York, B., Reynolds, A. and Carroll, J. eds. Power and Place in Europe in the 1st Millennium AD. London: British Academy, pp. 325-345.
- Seaman, A. and Lane, A. 2019. Excavation of the Ty'n-y-Coed Earthworks 2011-14: the Dinas Powys 'Southern Banks'. Archaeologia Cambrensis 168, pp. 1-27.
2018
- Seaman, A. 2018. Landscape, economy and society in late and post Roman Wales. In: Diarte Blasco, P. and Christie, N. eds. Interpreting Transformations of Landscapes and People in Late Antiquity. Oxford: Oxbow, pp. 123-136.
- Seaman, A. 2018. The Church of Julius, Aaron, and Alban at Caerleon. Monmouthshire Antiquary 34, pp. 3-16.
2017
- Seaman, A. 2017. Further research on a predictive model of early medieval settlement location: exploring the use of field-names as proxy data. Medieval Settlement Research 32, pp. 27-34.
2016
- Seaman, A. 2016. Defended settlement in early Medieval Wales: Problems of presence, absence and interpretation. In: Christie, N. and Herold, H. eds. Fortified Settlements in Early Medieval Europe: Defended Communities of the 8th-10th Centuries. Oxford: Oxbow, pp. 37-50.
- Seaman, A. 2016. La religión en Britania. Desperta Ferro Antiqua y Medieval 36, pp. 46-51.
2015
- Seaman, A. 2015. Julius and Aaron, 'Martyrs of Caerleon': In search of Wales' first Christian. Archaeologia Cambrensis 164, pp. 201-219.
2014
- Seaman, A. 2014. Tempora Christiana? Conversion and Christianization in Western Britain AD 300-700. Church Archaeology 16, pp. 1-22.
2013
- Seaman, A. 2013. Dinas Powys in context: Settlement and society in Post-Roman Wales. Studia Celtica 47, pp. 1-23.
2012
- Seaman, A. 2012. The multiple estate model re-considered: Power and territory in Early Medieval Wales. Welsh History Review 26, pp. 163-185.
2011
- Seaman, A. 2011. Towards a predictive model of early medieval settlement location: A case study from the Vale of Glamorgan. Medieval Settlement Research 25, pp. 12-22.
Articles
- Shiner, M. and Seaman, A. 2025. New pieces, a high-status early medieval settlement in the Welsh Marches: preliminary results from the 1996-2000 excavations. Archaeology in Wales
- Seaman, A., Davies, T., Morgan, J. and Tideswell, E. 2025. Llancadle South: An early medieval cemetery complex in the eastern Vale of Glamorgan. Preliminary results from the 2022-25 excavations. Archaeology in Wales
- Seaman, A., Davies, T. and Rippon, S. 2025. Rural landscape and settlement in the Dinas Powys environs: High resolution analysis of a Roman and medieval pollen sequence at Nant yr Argae in the eastern Vale of Glamorgan. Medieval Settlement Research 40, pp. 107-119. (10.5284/1137887)
- Campbell, E., Seaman, A., Lane, A. and Noble, G. 2023. A new chronology for the Welsh hillfort of Dinas Powys. Antiquity 97(369), pp. 1548-1563. (10.15184/aqy.2023.156)
- Comeau, R., Seaman, A. and Bloxam, A. 2023. Plague, climate and faith in Early Medieval Western Britain: Investigating narratives of change. Medieval Archaeology 67(1), pp. 1-28. (10.1080/00766097.2023.2204655)
- Seaman, A. 2022. Fonmon Castle landscape project: geophysical survey on land west of Fonmon Castle. Archaeology in Wales 61, pp. 65-70.
- Seaman, A. and Thomas, L. S. 2020. Hillforts and power in the British Post-Roman West: A GIS analysis of Dinas Powys. European Journal of Archaeology 23(4), pp. 547–566. (10.1017/eaa.2020.19)
- Seaman, A. 2019. Llywarch Hen’s Dyke: Place and narrative in Early Medieval Wales. Offa’s Dyke Journal 2019(1), pp. 96-113. (10.23914/odj.v1i0.252)
- Seaman, A. and Lane, A. 2019. Excavation of the Ty'n-y-Coed Earthworks 2011-14: the Dinas Powys 'Southern Banks'. Archaeologia Cambrensis 168, pp. 1-27.
- Seaman, A. 2018. The Church of Julius, Aaron, and Alban at Caerleon. Monmouthshire Antiquary 34, pp. 3-16.
- Seaman, A. 2017. Further research on a predictive model of early medieval settlement location: exploring the use of field-names as proxy data. Medieval Settlement Research 32, pp. 27-34.
- Seaman, A. 2016. La religión en Britania. Desperta Ferro Antiqua y Medieval 36, pp. 46-51.
- Seaman, A. 2015. Julius and Aaron, 'Martyrs of Caerleon': In search of Wales' first Christian. Archaeologia Cambrensis 164, pp. 201-219.
- Seaman, A. 2014. Tempora Christiana? Conversion and Christianization in Western Britain AD 300-700. Church Archaeology 16, pp. 1-22.
- Seaman, A. 2013. Dinas Powys in context: Settlement and society in Post-Roman Wales. Studia Celtica 47, pp. 1-23.
- Seaman, A. 2012. The multiple estate model re-considered: Power and territory in Early Medieval Wales. Welsh History Review 26, pp. 163-185.
- Seaman, A. 2011. Towards a predictive model of early medieval settlement location: A case study from the Vale of Glamorgan. Medieval Settlement Research 25, pp. 12-22.
Book sections
- Seaman, A., Morgan-James, R., Sinnott, S., Comeau, R. and Shiner, M. 2024. The Medieval period: Agriculture, assembly and burial. In: Guilbert, D., Morgan-Jones, R. and Sinnott, S. eds. A Journey Through 6000 years of History: Investigations along the A4226 Five Mile Lane Improvement Scheme. Red River Archaeology Group
- Seaman, A. 2023. Rulers and ‘royal courts’ in late antique Wales and southwest England. In: Lavan, L. and Crawford, P. eds. Imperial Archaeologies. Leiden: Brill
- Seaman, A. 2020. Finnaun y Doudec Seint: A holy spring in the Early Medieval kingdom of Brycheiniog. In: Ray, C. ed. Sacred Waters: A Cross-Cultural Compendium of Hallowed Springs and Holy Wells. London: Routledge, pp. 194-210.
- Seaman, A. 2020. The Llangorse Charter material. In: Lane, A. and Redknap, M. eds. The Llangorse Crannog: An Early Medieval Island Residence of the Kings of Brycheiniog. Oxford: Oxbow, pp. 414-421.
- Comeau, R. and Seaman, A. 2019. Introduction. In: Comeau, R. and Seaman, A. eds. Living off the Land: Agriculture in Wales c. 400-1600 AD. Oxford: Oxbow, pp. 1-14.
- Seaman, A. 2019. Landscape, settlement and agriculture in early medieval Brycheiniog: the evidence from the Llandaff Charters. In: Comeau, R. and Seaman, A. eds. Living off the Land: Agriculture in Wales c. 400-1600 AD. Oxford: Oxbow, pp. 153-173.
- Seaman, A. 2019. Power, place and territory in early Medieval South-East Wales. In: York, B., Reynolds, A. and Carroll, J. eds. Power and Place in Europe in the 1st Millennium AD. London: British Academy, pp. 325-345.
- Seaman, A. 2018. Landscape, economy and society in late and post Roman Wales. In: Diarte Blasco, P. and Christie, N. eds. Interpreting Transformations of Landscapes and People in Late Antiquity. Oxford: Oxbow, pp. 123-136.
- Seaman, A. 2016. Defended settlement in early Medieval Wales: Problems of presence, absence and interpretation. In: Christie, N. and Herold, H. eds. Fortified Settlements in Early Medieval Europe: Defended Communities of the 8th-10th Centuries. Oxford: Oxbow, pp. 37-50.
Books
- Richardson, A. et al. eds. 2022. Transitions and relationships over land and sea in the Early Middle Ages of Northern Europe. Canterbury: Canterbury Archaeological Trust.
- Comeau, R. and Seaman, A. eds. 2019. Living off the land: Agriculture in Wales c. 400-1600 AD. Oxford: Oxbow.
Conferences
- Seaman, A. 2023. Hillforts in Southern Britain: Power and Place in the Late Antique Landscape. Presented at: Congrès International d’Histoire et d’Archéologie, Roquebrune-sur-Argens, France, 19-25 October 2019Perchement et réalités fortifiées en Méditerranée et en Europe (Vème-Xème siècles) – Formes, rythmes, fonctions et acteurs. Archaeopress pp. 420-432.
- Seaman, A. 2022. Late antique hillfort occupation in south Britain: chronology, context, and interpretation. Presented at: Intentions and Meaning: A comparative view of Late Antique Hilltop sites in Europe, Ljubljana, Slovenia, 22-24 September 2021 Presented at Pavlovič, D. and Heinrich-Tamáska, O. eds.Book of Abstracts - International Workshop - Intentions and Meaning: A comparative view of Late Antique Hilltop sites in Europe. National Museum of Slovenia pp. 21-23.
Monographs
- Comeau, R. and Seaman, A. 2023. Research framework for the archaeology of Early Medieval Wales c. Ad 400–1070. Discussion Paper. CIFA Wales/Cymru.
Research
Andy's research interests include:
• Late Antique and early medieval western Britain;
• Hillforts and defended settlements;
• Power and kingship;
• Christianity and the early church;
• Agriculture, landscape and economy;
• The formation of the early medieval frontier in the Welsh Marches.
Andy has a particular interest in landscape archaeology and multidisciplinary research. He has led numerous research projects, including the AHRC-funded Manifestations of the Empire, which uses high-resolution pollen analysis to explore continuities and changes in environment and land-use between the Roman and early medieval periods. He is currently PI on the Leverhulme-funded Making the March: Contesting Lands in the Early Medieval Frontier (with Dr Charles Inslay, University of Manchester), and CI on Hidden Kingdoms: The Southwest of Britain in Late Antiquity (with Prof Stephen Rippon, University of Exeter) also funded by the Leverhulme Trust.
He is also a CI on two major AHRC-funded projects: Pushing the boundaries of early medieval Wales: An edition of the earliest Welsh charters (with Dr Ben Guy, University of Cambridge), and Ecologies of Governance in the First Millennium AD: Environment, Inequality and Rulership (with Dr Patrick Gleeson, Queens Belfast and Dr Duncan Wright, Newcastle University). He recently co-authored the latest archaeological research framework for is early medieval Wales and is involved in several British and European research networks, including Late Antique Hilltop Settlements in Europe (LAHIS).
Teaching
Andy is a Fellow of Advance HE. He teaches early medieval archaeology, coordinates fieldwork training and placements, and contributes to a range of other modules at both undergraduate and postgraduate level.
Biography
2024 - Preset: Reader in Early Medieval Archaeology, Cardiff University
2022 - 2024: Lecturer in Early Medieval Archaeology, Cardiff University
2012 - 2022: Lecturer and then Senior Lecturer and Subject Lead in Archaeology, Canterbury Christ Church University
2011 - 2012: Lecturer in Archaeology (fixed-term), Cardiff University
2010-2011: Commerical archaeologist
2002-2010: BA, MA and PhD in archaeology, Cardiff University
Honours and awards
NEIF (National Environmental Isotope Facility) Radiocarbon Peer Review Panel: 2024-present
Fellow of the Higher Education Academy: 2021-present
AHRC Peer Review College (Academic): 2020-present
Elected Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London: 2019
Elected member of the Sachsensymposion: 2016
Research Associate at the Dept. of Continuing Education University of Oxford: 2020-present
Professional memberships
Chartered Institute of Archaeologists: Associate
Speaking engagements
2024 Pembrokeshire and Byzantium: Connections in Late Antiquity. Presentation at Celtic Classical Conference, held at Cardiff University (with Molly Johnson).
2024 Prosiect Archaeoleg Tirwedd Castell Ffwl-y-mwn – canlyniadau o'r cloddio yn 2023’ (‘The Fonmon Castle Landscape Archaeology Project – results from the 2023 excavation’). Presentation at Cardiff University Conference on Medieval Wales (with Dr Tudur Davies).
2024 Hilltop Settlements and their Landscape Contexts in Late Antique Western Britain. Presentation at the Roman Archaeology Conference, held at UCL.
2023 Hillforts and Hill-Top ‘Settlement’ in Late Antique southwest Britain: New Insights and Interpretations. Invited Lecture to the University of Exeter.
2023 New Research on Two Elite Settlements in Early Medieval Wales: Dinas Powys and Longbury Bank. Presentation at Medieval Rural Settlement in Wales and South West England: Recent Research and New Perspective. Conference held at Cardiff University.
2023 Fonmon Castle Landscape Archaeology Project: Results from the First Two Years of Survey and Excavation. Invited lecture to the Society of Antiquaries of London.
2023 Reconsidering Hillforts in Late Antique Southern Britain: Fifty Years After Arthur’s Britain. Invited lecture to the Cardiff Archaeological Society.
2023 ‘Cae dan yr Eglwys’ and the royal estate at Llangors. Presentation at East and West in Early Medieval Europe and Beyond. Conference held at Cardiff University.
2022 Caergwrle and the Emergent Eastern Contested Landscapes of the Eastern Marchlands of Wales, Early Medieval Wales Archaeology Research Group, Abergavenny (with Dr Charles Insley and Prof Keith Ray).
2022 Plague, Climate and Faith in Early Medieval Western Britain: Investigating Narratives of Change, Early Medieval Wales Archaeology Research Group, Abergavenny (with Dr Rhiannon Comeau and Dr Anna Bloxham).
2022 Pollen Analysis and Early Medieval Landscape in the Dinas Powys Environs, Early Medieval Wales Archaeology Research Group, Abergavenny (with Dr Tudur Davies and Prof Stephen Rippon).
2022 Hillforts and Hilltop Settlement in Post-Roman Western Britain: Re-examining Function and Interpretation. Invited lecture, Gwynedd Archaeological Trust.
2022 Late Antique Hillforts and Hilltop Settlement in the Dyrham Region. Presentation at Dyrham 577. Conference held by Newcastle University/University of St Andrews.
Committees and reviewing
Society of Antiquaries of London, Council: 2024-present
Chartered Institute for Archaeologists Cymru/Wales: Committee: 2024-present
Medieval Settlement Research Group: Treasurer: 2017-2025
Royal Archaeological Institute: Council member: 2018-2023
Archaeological Journal: Editorial Committee: 2020-2025
Society for Medieval Archaeology: Council member: 2020-2023
Co-convener: Offa’s Dyke Collaboratory: 2022-present
Supervisions
- Late antique and early medieval archaeology, particularly Wales and western Britain;
- Landscape archaeology;
- Hillforts and defended settlements;
- Cemeteries and churches;
- Material culture.
Current supervision
Past projects
- Buried in the Borderlands: An artefact typology and chronology for The Netherlands in the early medieval period on the basis of funerary archaeology
- The Settlement of East and West Flegg, Norfolk: An interdisciplinary study
Contact Details
Research themes
Specialisms
- Early Medieval Britain
- Early medieval funerary practices
- Wales
- Landscape Archaeology
- late antiquity
