Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Stuart Wilson told BBC Wales people thought he was "mad" when he bought the field in Trellech 
 
 An archaeologist who bet his life savings on a hunch he had found a lost medieval city in Monmouthshire has said people thought he was "mad". 
 
 Stuart Wilson, 37, was convinced he had located the site of 13th Century Trellech - once Wales' largest city. 
 
 He paid £32,000 for a 4.6 acre (1.86-hectare) field at the edge of the modern-day village and started to dig. 
 
 Now, 12 years later, he believes he has revealed the footprint of a bustling iron boom town from the 1200s - and he does not regret his decision. 
 
 "I should have really bought a house and got out from my parents' [home], but I thought: 'To hell with my parents, I will stay at home and I shall buy a field instead," Mr Wilson said. 
 
 "People said 'you must be mad'," he added. 
 
 Image caption Mr Wilson's site - marked here as 124 - lies to the south of modern-day Trellech 
 
 He discovered the site was for sale in 2004, after conducting a dig nearby, and went to the auction armed with his savings. 
 
 "It was a close-run thing - it was meant to be a guide price of £12,000 and 30 seconds later it had shot up to £32,000. So it was a very hit-and-miss thing, but eventually we did get it," he said. 
 
 Since then he has spent £180,000 in total on the site and enlisted the help of hundreds of volunteers to dig each summer since 2005. 
 
 They have uncovered eight buildings, including a fortified manor house and various outbuildings which would have sat alongside the medieval city's market. 
 
 Today, Trellech is a somewhat sleepy village with a population of about 2,800. 
 
 However, Mr Wilson, a member of Monmouth Archaeological Society, said in the mid 1200s it became the centre of iron production for the army of the de Clare family. 
 
 The de Clares were a family of powerful and influential Norman lords allied with Edward I and his bid to conquer Wales. 
 
 "At its peak, we're talking about a population of maybe around 10,000 people. In comparison, there were 40,000 in London, so it's quite large," said Mr Wilson, from Chepstow. 
 
 "This population grew from nothing to that size within 25 years. Now it took 250 years for London to get to 40,000 people, so we're talking a massive expansion. 
 
 "And that's just the planned settlement. The slums [to the east of modern-day Trellech] would have been quite numerous. There you would be talking even 20,000 plus. It's a vast area." 
 
 Image caption Sections of the historical buildings have been uncovered at the Trellech site 
 
 Mr Wilson's field is beside what would have been the medieval market, where iron would have been smelted and goods traded. 
 
 He said money and workers would have "poured" into the expanding settlement. 
 
 "If you're working in the fields you are living hand to mouth every single day - it's a really hard existence. 
 
 "Suddenly, a big industrial town comes here, this is a great opportunity for you. 
 
 "You up-sticks - to hell with your land - 'let's move to the industrial town where the opportunity is'." 
 
 He said the feudal system would not have been as well developed in the border areas as it was in large parts of England in the 13th Century, so Trellech would have represented a chance for those looking to "rise up the social ranks" more quickly than elsewhere. 
 
 "This was like the wild west," he added. 
 
 Buildings he has found on the site would have fallen into ruin by 1400 and would have been entirely abandoned by 1650, after the Civil War. 
 
 Curiously, the area did not have a rich vein of iron ore and, unusually for such a boom town, it was built on a hill. So how did the industry develop there? 
 
 Image caption A medieval roof finial and a 15th Century jug found at Mr Wilson's site, known as Tinkers Land 
 
 "The primary iron ore came from the Forest of Dean - that's what actually makes it so weird," Mr Wilson said. 
 
 "You would normally have taken it down into the gorge and then utilised it at Monmouth or Chepstow, in the valleys and then ship it out. 
 
 "You wouldn't then take it back up the hill and then smelted it." 
 
 However, the de Clares did not control Chepstow or Monmouth and they wanted to control their own supply of iron to their armies. 
 
 Using Trellech was a "strategic power play" which gave them a wide trade route and allowed them to bypass the Welsh defences of the valleys, Mr Wilson said. 
 
 Image copyright Thinkstock 
 
 However, it is believed the town as it existed then came to an abrupt end in 1296, when it was destroyed during a Welsh rebellion before being subsequently rebuilt. 
 
 During the successive digs, Mr Wilson and his team have found scores of artefacts, including a 15th Century jug, a medieval roof finial for "scaring off witches", a rare plant pot and several sharpening stones, as well as silver coins. 
 
 Mr Wilson now hopes to turn the site into an attraction and has submitted plans for an archaeological research centre and camp site to Monmouthshire council. 
 
 But does he feel his financial punt on the site has paid off? 
 
 "If I had not found anything it would have been a nice place for a picnic," he said, "but it was not as big a risk as people think." ||||| After facing years of doubts, Stuart Wilson’s claim that he has found medieval city on English-Welsh border is being listened to 
 
 The first clue was provided by moles. As the creatures burrowed beneath a farmer’s field close to the border between England and Wales, they threw up fragments of what appeared to be medieval pottery. 
 
 Stuart Wilson, an archaeology graduate who was working in a toll bridge booth, took a gamble and bought the field for £32,000 when he could have been investing in his first house. 
 
 Over the past 15 years he and a hardy band of volunteers have painstakingly unearthed what they believe are the remains of a sprawling medieval city. 
 
 Black Death burial pit found at site of medieval abbey in Lincolnshire Read more 
 
 Wilson, 37, is preparing for an exciting 2017. When the weather improves he and his colleagues will continue their work on the site, focusing particularly on what he says is the skeleton of a moated manor house. 
 
 He is applying for planning permission for an interpretation centre to tell visitors about the lost city of Trellech, and for a campsite for tourists and helpers. 
 
 After facing years of scepticism from some within the archaeology community, he is now being listened to seriously. Before Christmas he was invited by Cardiff Archaeological Society to speak at Cardiff University. 
 
 Wilson said his decision to buy the land had been vindicated. “People thought I was mad and really I should have bought a house rather than a field,” he said. “But it turned out to be the best decision of my life. I don’t regret it at all.” 
 
 Back at the turn of the century, professional, well-equipped archeologists were trying to find the remains of the city but were focusing on the modern village of Trellech, on the Welsh side of the border between Tintern and Monmouth. 
 
 In 2002 a farmer told the Monmouth Archaeological Society about the pottery that had been found in molehills on his land outside the village. 
 
 “I went and took a look,” said Wilson. He investigated the site and within minutes had found what he believed was the remains of a wall. “That was a very good start,” he said. 
 
 Facebook Twitter Pinterest One of the artefacts found at the site. Photograph: Wales News Service 
 
 Two years later the 4.6-acre plot came up for sale and Wilson took a punt. “Much more experienced people were saying the city wasn’t there but I was young and confident,” he said. “If I was right the high street was right there in that field. It was a wonderful opportunity.” 
 
 Wilson gave up his job so he could focus on the dig. Over the years he estimates that about 1,000 people have joined him, from archaeology students to intrigued people from the area. 
 
 He said he had so far pinpointed eight buildings, adding: “We’re finding building after building after building.” 
 
 A manor house, thought to have included two halls and a courtyard, may be the most spectacular but Wilson is fond of a well that was unearthed containing pieces of wood, bone and leather. Other features discovered include parts of jugs, cooking vessels, fireplaces and drains. 
 
 One of the best finds last year was more ancient: a flint knapping kit thought to date back to neolithic times. “I’ve asked the person who found that to come again,” he said. “They are clearly lucky.” 
 
 Wilson said the city was once home to about 10,000 people, perhaps a quarter of the size of London’s population at the time. He said the settlement was founded by a family called De Clare in the 13th century to manufacture weapons, armour and other military equipment. 
 
 Agricultural workers were tempted into the city by the prospect of more lucrative employment. “If you’re working in the fields you are living hand to mouth every single day – it’s a really hard existence,” said Wilson. “Suddenly, a big industrial town comes here, this is a great opportunity for you. You up sticks and move to the industrial town where the opportunity is.” 
 
 Most of the buildings, according to Wilson, seem to date from when the town was reorganised and built in stone after attacks by both English and Welsh forces. Evidence of the earlier town has been found below some of the buildings and occupation on the site may have started 100 years before that again, he believes. 
 
 
 
 The city did not last long as a major centre. It was attacked by enemies of the De Clares and ravaged by disease. In later centuries fighters led by the Welsh leader Owain Glyndŵr targeted Trellech and it fell into ruin. 
 
 Wilson’s project has not been cheap. He estimates that it may have cost as much as £200,000 over 15 years. It has been funded by individual donations, commercial activities such as “experience days”, and through an online shop selling historical documents. 
 
 Wilson, who lives in a converted toilet block in Chepstow, believes that unearthing the city of Trellech will be his life’s work. “I think we’ve only found 0.1% of it,” he said. 
 
 This year’s digging season will start in the spring and students and volunteers are invited to sign up to join in with key excavations in July and August. 
 
 But what if Wilson’s gamble 15 years ago had come to nothing? “The field would have been a nice place to have a picnic.” ||||| Conversations: Field of Dreams Volume 59 Number 5, September/October 2006 
 
 An enthusiast was so convinced that a farmer's plot hid a medieval city, he bought it. 
 
 Stuart Wilson made headlines when excavations made a convincing case for the identification of the "lost" city of Trellech, a large medieval Welsh city that professional archaeologists had been seeking for decades. But what was as newsmaking as the discovery was how the 27-year-old former toll collector, who holds an undergraduate degree in archaeology from York University, made it. Archaeology talked to Wilson, an active member of his local archaeology society, about taking big risks and staking independent claims. 
 
 
 
 (Courtesy Stuart Wilson) 
 
 When and how did you first learn of Trellech? What interested you about it? 
 
 In 2002, a man named Jonathan Badham contacted the Monmouth Archaeological Society, suggesting that we investigate his land. He had found lots of medieval pottery in molehills and knew of our treasurer's idea that the medieval city lay to the south of present-day Trellech and thus over his land. Up until then, a nearby university had been trying to find the medieval city right under the modern town. So I volunteered for a one-day dig, which turned into a lifetime of discovery. 
 
 And you ended up buying the site? 
 
 Well, after the first two excavation seasons, in which we found a house site that seemed to confirm the location of Trellech, I was becoming increasingly interested. I knew that the third season would be the last because Jonathan's mother, who owned the land, wanted a quieter life. I was ready to ask a farmer who owned the field opposite the dig whether I could sublease some of his land when he informed me it was up for auction. 
 
 You managed to scrape up £32,000 ($59,000)-roughly one-third in savings and the rest in a bank loan. Why did you want that particular spot of land so much? 
 
 If the location theory was right, then this field would incorporate most of the east side of old Trellech's main street. The moles there were also turning up medieval pottery. I thought that if they're blind and can still find medieval pottery, so can we. 
 
 What is the most surprising discovery you've made so far? 
 
 How large and well intact the buildings are. The walls are fully intact, and floors, drains, road surfaces, cobbled pavements, entrances, and now a fireplace with a chimney and a courtyard have all been found. 
 
 What does your family think of your purchase? 
 
 My family thought it was a good investment, knowing how much I loved doing archaeology, and were very supportive. Though, as my mum said, if you don't find anything, at least it is still a nice place to have a picnic. 
 
 How do you support yourself now? 
 
 Recently I resigned from being a toll collector to see if I can make more money out of my archaeology. I've also set up an eBay shop where I work on another of my interests, which is historical manuscripts. 
 
 What do other archaeologists think of your project? 
 
 Most other archaeologists have been generally supportive but many were at first skeptical. This was because the University of Wales, Newport, claimed that they had already found medieval Trellech and therefore I was digging in the wrong place. 
 
 How long do you think this project will take? 
 
 To dig my field will probably take about 50 years, so basically the rest of my life. But my field is only one part of the city, which will take a lot longer to excavate. 
 
 Do you plan to purchase any more land? 
 
 Yes, I would like to buy more to dig, or at least to protect, so that it would be available for excavation at some later point. My field is just one of many that hold parts of the medieval city within it and there are many other pieces of land near Monmouth that would make for excellent research digs if someone had the time. 
 
 Visit the excavation online at www.lostcityoftrellech.co.uk. ||||| An amateur metal detector has made a discovery that experts think could change our understanding of Christianity in Denmark. 
 
 Dennis Fabricius Holm was enjoying an afternoon off work when he found a Birka crucifix pendant in a field near the town of Aunslev, Østfyn. 
 
 “I got off early on Friday, so I took just a few hours, I went around with my metal detector and then I came suddenly on something,” Mr Holm told DK. 
 
 “Since I cleared the mud and saw the jewellery, I have not been able to think of anything else.” 
 
 On posting the find to social media, other users encouraged him to take it to a museum. 
 
 Malene Refshauge Beck, curator and archaeologist at Østfyns Museum said: “It is an absolutely sensational discovery that is from the first half of the 900s [10th century].” 
 
 “There is found an almost identical figure in Sweden, which has been dated to just this period.” 
 
 However, this specimen is in especially good condition and one of the most well preserved Christian artefacts found in Denmark. 
 
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And the best thing about optical fibres is when at Imperial College London they were first demonstrated to be able to ‘bend’ light by Harold Hopkins and Narinder Kapany, dubbed the ‘founding father of fibre optics’ 
 
 Weighing just 13.2 grams and 4.1cm in length, the figure is made of finely articulated goldthreads and tiny fillagree pellets. 
 
 It is smooth on the reverse side but has a small eye at the top for a chain. 
 
 It was probably worn by a Viking woman. 
 
 The dating of the crucifix, estimated at being from 900 – 950AD, is significant because it would indicate Danes embraced Christianity earlier than previously thought. 
 
 At the moment, the Jelling Stones - two large runestones erected in 965AD in Jutland - are thought to be the oldest known representation of Jesus on a cross in Denmark. 
 
 The stones, in the town of Jelling, commemorate Harald Bluetooth’s conversion of the Danes to Christianity. 
 
 Christian missionaries had been present in the country for around two hundred years before then, but had failed to convert the Vikings. 
 
 However, pressures from Christian trade partners to convert, and in particular, influence from the Kingdom of Germany to the south, meant that most Danes were Christian by the end of the Viking period in 1050. 
 
 “The figure can therefore help to advance the time when one considers that the Danes really were Christians,” said Ms Beck. 
 
 “Simply because one can say that the person who carried it here no doubt embraced the Christian faith.” 
 
 The impact of the find is such that the historical record of the country will need to be adjusted. 
 
 “This is a subject that certainly will have to appear in the history books in the future,” said Ms Beck. 
 
 “In recent years there has been more and more signs that Christianity was widespread earlier than previously thought - and here the clearest evidence so far.” 
 
 And as for the amateur archaeologist? 
 
 “I’ve hardly slept!” Mr Holm said to TV2 / Fyn. 
 
 “It has been very overwhelming. I have not yet grasped that find’s influence on Denmark's history. 
 
 “It is hard to comprehend.”
– Stuart Wilson says people thought he was crazy when he gambled $39,000—his life savings—on a 4.6-acre field in Wales. Having heard a farmer's story about moles digging up bits of pottery on the land, the amateur archaeologist tells the Guardian he had a hunch that something important lay beneath, and when the parcel went on the market in 2004, he bought it. Now, it looks like his bet is paying off: He believes his land is sitting atop the lost city of Trellech—Wales' largest city in the 13th century, reports the BBC—and the Guardian reports his theory is starting to gain traction. Wilson, a former toll collector who got his undergrad degree in archaeology, estimates the project has cost more than $200,000, funded in part through donations (you can be an archaeologist for a day for $61). With help from some 1,000 volunteers, Wilson says he has so far discovered eight buildings, and he intends to spend 2017 working on the remains of what he believes is a manor house surrounded by a moat. In 2006, he told Archaeology.org that excavating the field "will probably take about 50 years, so basically the rest of my life." As for the history of the site, it was founded by the de Clare family in the 1200s as a hub that produced iron weapons and armor, and its population exploded. Per Wilson, in just 25 years it grew to 10,000 people—a quarter of London's size, though Wilson points out it took London 250 years to amass its 40,000 people. The BBC reports the de Clares' settlement is thought to have been destroyed in 1296. (Read about the seven biggest archaeology finds of 2016.)