Subject: FOI Internal Review - 2026-024 - Great House Farm, Llandough From: FOI Requests Direction: received Date: Tue, 22 Sep 2026 09:24 UTC Institution: Amgueddfa Cymru - Museum Wales Refs: none Archive id: gm-1a0c86e31d8df932 ------------------------------------------------------------ Dear Mr Buckler Thank you for your request for an internal review of Amgueddfa Cymru's response to your Freedom of Information request concerning a reported archaeological discovery at Great House Farm, Llandough. I have now completed my review of the handling of your request, including the searches undertaken and the concerns raised in your request for review. Having reviewed the original request, the searches conducted and the response provided, I am satisfied that the request was handled appropriately and that reasonable and proportionate searches were undertaken in those locations where information falling within the scope of the request would reasonably be expected to be held. In your request for review, you suggest that additional searches should have been undertaken using a wider range of terms and concepts, including references to Roman burials, military burials, cavalry burials, human remains, horse remains and other archaeological terminology. I have carefully considered this point. However, when assessing whether information is held for the purposes of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, the relevant issue is not whether every conceivable search term has been used, but whether the authority has undertaken searches that are reasonable and proportionate in the circumstances and reasonably likely to identify relevant information if held. Your request concerned a specific reported discovery at a named location. Accordingly, the location identified in the request was used as the primary search criterion. Searches were undertaken across Amgueddfa Cymru's information holdings where records relating to acquisitions, accessions, archaeological finds, provenance information and associated correspondence would reasonably be expected to be held. This included collections management systems, accession records, archived documentation, shared electronic records and other organisational record repositories. Records identified through those searches were reviewed by collections staff and the FOI team to determine whether they related to the reported discovery described in your request. As the search methodology was location-based rather than focused on a particular object type, archaeological period or interpretation, it was reasonably likely of identifying relevant records regardless of whether associated material had been recorded as Roman, medieval or otherwise. I have therefore considered your suggestion that later historical accounts may have inaccurately described the nature, date or attribution of the reported discovery. I am satisfied that this possibility would not have affected the outcome of the searches undertaken. I have also considered whether broader keyword searches would have been appropriate. Given the scale and diversity of Amgueddfa Cymru's collections and records, generic terms such as "horse", "burial" or "skeleton" would retrieve large volumes of records relating to many different sites and periods and would not provide a reliable or proportionate means of locating records relating to a specific reported discovery at a named location. I am satisfied that the location-based search strategy adopted was the most appropriate and proportionate approach. The searches undertaken did not identify any records relating to: * the acquisition, accession, donation, transfer or deposit of a visor, lance, helmet, armour or related objects associated with the discovery described in your request; * associated human or animal remains connected with that discovery; * reburial records relating to that discovery; or * excavation reports, discovery reports or watching-brief records relating to the discovery described in your request. Having reviewed both the scope of the original request and the searches undertaken, I am satisfied on the balance of probabilities that, if information relating to the reported discovery were held by Amgueddfa Cymru, those searches would have been likely to identify it. You also raised concerns regarding the reference in the original response to other archaeological records identified during the course of the searches. Those records were reviewed and were not considered to relate to, or otherwise be associated with, the reported discovery described in your request. However, I can confirm that this aspect has been subject to further consideration and a separate response will be issued in relation to those records. I therefore uphold the original conclusion that Amgueddfa Cymru does not hold recorded information falling within the scope of your request. This concludes Amgueddfa Cymru's internal review process. If you remain dissatisfied, you may complain to the Information Commissioner's Office under section 50 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Cofion cynnes, [A picture containing text, tableware, plate, dishware Description automatically generated] FOI Team [cid:image002.png@01DD4A6D.9E375520] [email redacted]<[email redacted]> amgueddfa.cymru | museum.wales Rhif elusen | Charity number 525774 From: Sion Buckler <[email redacted]> Sent: 26 August 2026 07:24 To: FOI Requests <[email redacted]> Subject: Re: FOI - 2026-024 - Great House Farm, Llandough This email comes from outside the organisation. Do not click links or open attachments unless it is an email you expected to receive. Dear FOI Team, Thank you for your response. I am requesting an internal review of the handling of my request. I do not consider the response sufficient because it appears that the searches were conducted too narrowly around the later description of a "medieval visor, lance, helmet or other item of armour", rather than around the underlying historical discovery at Great House Farm itself. The issue I am investigating is a reported nineteenth-century discovery at Great House Farm (Ty Mawr), Llandough. My understanding from contemporary or near-contemporary newspaper and historical accounts is that the discovery was described as involving the remains of a Roman soldier, with associated remains and objects. The dating and description of the individual objects as "medieval" may therefore itself be inaccurate, or may represent a later conflation or retelling of the original discovery. Your response is particularly significant because it states: <"Our searches identified records relating to ... other archaeological discoveries recorded at Great House Farm (Ty Mawr), Llandough. These records do not relate to, nor are they otherwise associated with, the discovery described in your request. We have therefore not considered them to fall within the scope of this request."> I respectfully challenge that approach. The central question is precisely whether the discovery described in later historical accounts can be identified, corroborated, corrected or explained through the Museum's records concerning archaeological discoveries at Great House Farm. If the Museum has identified records relating to other discoveries at the same historically significant site, it is not sufficient simply to conclude internally that they are unrelated without disclosing what those discoveries are, when they were recorded, and the basis upon which that conclusion was reached. I therefore request that the internal review reconsider the scope of my request and undertake searches using, at minimum, the following terms and concepts: - Great House Farm - Ty Mawr - Llandough - Llandough, Cardiff - Roman soldier - Roman burial - Roman grave - Roman remains - human remains - skeleton - horse remains - equine remains - soldier and horse - cavalry burial - military burial - grave goods - Roman military equipment - visor - helmet - lance - spear - armour - archaeological discovery - nineteenth-century discovery - 1870 and adjacent years Please also search for relevant records under alternative historical place-name indexing, donor names, findspot descriptions, parish names and catalogue terminology where the precise modern name "Great House Farm" may not have been used. Most importantly, I ask that you disclose sufficient information about the "other archaeological discoveries" which your searches identified at Great House Farm to enable me to understand and assess the Museum's conclusion that they are unrelated. This should include, so far as held: 1. A description or title of each relevant discovery or record. 2. The approximate date of the discovery or record. 3. The nature of the material or remains involved. 4. Any accession number, catalogue number or archival reference. 5. The recorded provenance or findspot. 6. Any dating attributed to the discovery. 7. The basis upon which Amgueddfa Cymru concluded that each record was unrelated to the nineteenth-century discovery described in my request. I am not asking the Museum to create new archaeological opinions or undertake speculative research. I am asking for recorded information which has already been identified during the searches and which directly concerns archaeological discoveries at the specific site named in my request. If the Museum maintains that any of those records fall outside the original scope, then please treat this email additionally as a refined request for the recorded information identified above. I would also ask the reviewer to consider whether the original response gave insufficient weight to the possibility that the historical account may have inaccurately dated or described the find. A search which excludes Roman, nineteenth-century, burial and equine terminology risks missing the very records capable of establishing what was actually discovered beneath Great House Farm. Given that your searches have already identified records concerning archaeological discoveries at Great House Farm itself, I would be grateful for a full reconsideration and disclosure of the recorded information requested above. Yours faithfully, Sion Buckler (Ret'd Sergeant) Royal Signals Cyber and Electronic Warfare Professional and Life Member On Tue, 25 Aug 2026, 04:25 FOI Requests, <[email redacted]<[email redacted]>> wrote: Dear Mr Buckler, Thank you for your request for information received on 27 July 2026 concerning records relating to a reported discovery at Great House Farm (Ty Mawr), Llandough, including a soldier, horse remains and items described as a visor and lance. Amgueddfa Cymru has undertaken searches of its collections management systems, accession records and associated documentation. We have not identified any records relating to the acquisition, accession, donation, transfer or deposit of a medieval visor, lance, helmet or other item of armour associated with Great House Farm (Ty Mawr), Llandough. We have also not identified records relating to the specific discovery described in your request, including records of associated human or animal remains, reburial records, excavation reports, watching briefs or discovery reports. Accordingly, under section 1(1)(a) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, our response is that Amgueddfa Cymru does not hold the requested information. For completeness, our searches identified records relating to other archaeological finds from Church Farm, Llandough and to other archaeological discoveries recorded at Great House Farm (Ty Mawr), Llandough. These records do not relate to, nor are they otherwise associated with, the discovery described in your request. We have therefore not considered them to fall within the scope of this request. If you are dissatisfied with this response, you may request an internal review by writing to [email redacted]<[email redacted]> within 40 working days of the date of this letter. Cofion cynnes, [A picture containing text, tableware, plate, dishware Description automatically generated] FOI Team [cid:image002.png@01DD4A6D.9E375520] [email redacted]<[email redacted]> amgueddfa.cymru | museum.wales Rhif elusen | Charity number 525774 From: Sion Buckler <[email redacted]<[email redacted]>> Sent: 27 July 2026 02:22 To: FOI Requests <[email redacted]<[email redacted]>> Subject: ALLANOL/EXTERNAL - FOI - Great House Farm, Llandough This email comes from outside the organisation. Do not click links or open attachments unless it is an email you expected to receive. You don't often get email from [email redacted]<[email redacted]>. Learn why this is important Dear Freedom of Information Team, I am writing to request information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and, where applicable, the Environmental Information Regulations 2004. A published local history account states that, during works to replace the stone floor of the dining room at Great House Farm (also known as Ty Mawr), Llandough, Cardiff, the remains of a soldier and his horse were discovered beneath the floor. The remains were subsequently re-buried in the churchyard, and the soldier's visor and lance were given to the National Museum of Wales (Amgueddfa Cymru). I therefore request the following recorded information held by Amgueddfa Cymru: Any records relating to the acquisition, accession, donation, transfer or deposit of a medieval visor, lance, helmet, or other items of armour associated with Great House Farm / Ty Mawr / Llandough. The accession number(s), date of acquisition or transfer, name of the donor or transferring body, and any provenance or discovery notes linked to these objects. Any catalogue entries, object records, or internal correspondence concerning the above items. Any records of associated human or animal remains from the same discovery, including notes on reburial. Any related excavation, watching-brief, or discovery reports held by the Museum. If any of the requested information is already publicly available (for example via the Museum's online collections database), I would be grateful if you could simply provide the relevant accession numbers or catalogue links. Please treat this as a request for recorded information only. I am not seeking advice or opinion. I look forward to your response within the statutory timescale. Yours faithfully, Sion Buckler (Ret'd Sergeant) [cid:image003.jpg@01DD4A6D.9E375520]