ABSTRACT
Dryslwyn was the principal administrative centre for a dispersed lordship covering an area roughly the size of Carmarthenshire. It was also the principal residence of a major lord and his family, one descended from the Welsh princes of Deheubarth. In the period after 1290 the castle also formed an important political and economic element in supporting the town of Dryslwyn. Saintonge ware appears to have been popular at Dryslwyn and has also occasionally been seen at other Welsh castle sites such as Castell-y-Bere. The presence of silver coins indicates the development of at least a partial cash-based economy in places in Wales such as Dryslwyn by the mid 13th century. The 1980–94 excavations at Dryslwyn Castle produced around 19kg of pottery, the vast majority of it medieval. Roman coins are found widely in south and west Wales, so the presence of a worn specimen of a common denarius of Vespasian need not be significant.
