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Steven Williams' Excavations

During the late 19th Century, the railways came to Strata Florida. A railway engineer by the name of Steven Williams who was working on the Aberystwyth - Tregaron Line, took an interest in the remains of the Abbey, which by now were severely overgrown ruins.

Archaeology as a discipline was quite unevolved, but Williams was still keen to see some investigation into the remains. Williams undertook some extensive excavations over the Abbey Church, revealing much of what we see now.

When Williams arrived, most of the Abbey Church was buried. He began the excavation, pouring most of the spoil into a large heap, which now sits in the field behind Tŷ Abaty, and which can be viewed as part of the Virtual Tour.

Williams is responsible for much of what we know physically about Strata Florida now. The plan of the Abbey Church was first laid out by Williams, along with conjecture on the history of the building itself.

During the excavations a huge number of floor tiles were uncovered, depicting a number of scenes and patterns. These would have extended across the entirety of the floor. Currently, one can only see them in the chapels of the two transepts, especially the South Transept, where there are shelters to protect the precious tiles.