An upcoming series of summer events will raise awareness of historical sites in Wales at risk from the climate crisis.
The events will be run by CHERISH, a project led by Welsh and Irish scientists aiming to study the impact of climate change on coastal communities around the Irish Sea – and to help those communities adapt.
The team stated that “many sites along our coast are at high risk of disappearing forever as sea levels rise and global temperatures rise.”
“The CHERISH project is investigating how these changes are affecting features like hillforts, shipwrecks, reefs and islands, making sure there’s a permanent record of our history.
“Now our experts want to share with the public their knowledge and findings.”
Caerfai Bay, Pembrokeshire. (Picture: VisitWales)
Archaeologists will lead tours and open-days around sites identified as at-risk from climate change, including a prehistoric fort at Caerfai, near St Davids, Castell Bach in Cwmtydu, Ceredigion, and St Govan’s Chapel in Pembrokeshire.
To allow people to participate from their homes, a livestreamed event will be held at Fort Plimston Bay in Pembrokeshire.
Archaeologist Hannah Genders Boyd, who organised the events programme, said: “We hope to give people an opportunity to explore climate change from a new angle: through the lens of archaeological sites at risk from changing weather patterns like increased rainfall and extreme weather events.”
Coastal erosion and flooding has long been identified as a significant risk to Wales, with around 60 percent of our population living near the sea, and 71,000 properties currently at risk of flooding.
Climate Change Central research and campaign body that major urban centres – such as Cardiff, Swansea and Newport – along with towns like Aberystwyth and Holyhead, could all be underwater by 2050 if global temperature rises are not kept below 2C.
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Gwynedd’s Fairbourne, Gwynedd has already been identified by experts as an area of “managed withdrawal” due to the predicted rise in sea levels. Flood defenses are expected to be abandoned by 2052.
Fairbourne residents are likely the UK’s first climate refugees.
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