TerraDat

05/03/2026

Our aerial mapping capability just received a major upgrade. We can now survey up to 10–20 km²/day with exceptional vegetation pe*******on, producing the highest-quality bare-earth DEMs we've ever delivered.

This is a significant step forward for a range of applications: revealing the subtle micro-terrain of archaeological sites, providing large-scale topographic surfaces for geophysical data corrections, and delivering precise reality capture across complex landscapes.

23/01/2026

Here's an extended video of our team carrying out archaeological geophysics at Margam Country Park. It features Olly operating our ImpulseRadar ground penetrating radar and Lewis navigating a Sensys - Magnetometers & Survey Solutions multi-sensor mag cart.

For the time being, the exact location of the Roman villa is being closely guarded for its own security, but will hopefully become a big focus in telling the story of this unique and fascinating site.

23/01/2026

The story continues to go global... here's a great write-up of our big discovery at Margam Country Park in Smithsonian Magazine.

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/archaeologists-say-theyve-detected-the-largest-stand-alone-ancient-roman-villa-ever-unearthed-in-wales-180988032/

19/01/2026

19/01/2026

What an great day at Margam Country Park on Saturday.

We shared new insights into the Roman villa discovery with several hundred attendees who joined Alex Langlands in the church to hear what daily life would have been like for Romans living in South Wales nearly two millennia ago.

Tim Young then led walking tours around the site, revealing how our geophysical surveys have uncovered the hidden layout of the Cistercian Abbey and Tudor Mansion beneath the ground.

Attendees also experienced live demonstrations of our ground penetrating radar technology in action.

Thanks to everyone who came out to explore this remarkable piece of history with us.

12/01/2026

TerraDat reveals "Pontypeii" at Margam Park

TerraDat was privileged to conduct the geophysical survey at Margam Country Park that revealed a substantial Roman villa - or as we’ve nicknamed it, "Pontypeii."

While much of our work involves commercial geophysical surveys for infrastructure and engineering developments, it was wonderful to collaborate closely with archaeologists on this research project. Working with Swansea University's ArchaeoMargam team, we identified the previously unknown structure using magnetic gradiometry, then imaged it in high-resolution with ground-penetrating radar to reveal the footprint of a villa complex measuring 43m x 55m, along with associated structures that are rewriting our understanding of Roman Wales.

As project lead Dr Alex Langlands noted, this discovery challenges the traditional narrative of Wales as merely a Roman frontier zone. Instead, it reveals a sophisticated agricultural centre comparable to the grand villas of Gloucestershire and Somerset.

The exceptional preservation - protected by Margam's continuous use as a deer park since Roman times - means floor surfaces and wall foundations appear intact, offering extraordinary research potential.

This project exemplifies the vital role geophysical survey plays in heritage discovery. Whether supporting commercial developments or archaeological research, non-invasive techniques like magnetometry and GPR allow us to map what lies beneath comprehensively, informing both engineering decisions and conservation strategies.

Congratulations to the entire ArchaeoMargam team on this remarkable find. We're honoured to have played a part in uncovering this extraordinary piece of Welsh history.

Read more: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cgk8j1gkxelo

The largest Roman villa ever found in Wales lies less than a metre under Margam Country Park.

21/08/2025

We are recruiting. Check out our latest vacancies for Project Geophysicist and Graduate Geophysicist

Jobs at TerraDat We currently have a vacancy for a Project/Senior Geophysicist and a Graduate Geophysicist. See below for job descriptions and details on how to apply. Closing date: 11th August 2025  ============================================================================= PROJECT/SENIOR PROJEC...

18/07/2025

We’re proud once again to support Cardiff University’s MSc in Applied Environmental (Engineering) Geology.

A huge congratulations to Carly Bennett, winner of this year’s TerraDat Prize for Best Masters Project. Her work stood out for its relevance and practical impact—exactly the kind of applied thinking this course has championed for decades.

It’s with some regret that this year marks the end of the programme. At a time when the industry urgently needs skilled engineering geologists, the closure of such a valuable course is a real loss—for students, employers, and the future of our profession. Over the years, we’ve had the privilege of working with and hiring exceptional Cardiff graduates, and we know the calibre they bring.

That said, we remain optimistic and look forward to supporting Cardiff University in its plans to launch a revised and related programme in the future. The need for applied geoscience expertise has never been greater.

In these challenging times for higher education, we encourage fellow alumni and industry partners to step forward—through mentoring, project supervision, and offering industrial experience—to help shape and sustain the next generation of geoscience professionals.

Finally, a heartfelt thank you to Peter Brabham, who not only taught me, my co-founders, and many members of the TerraDat UK Ltd. team, but has continued to inspire and support young geoscientists with his trademark energy and humour. His contribution to this course—and to the profession—can’t be overstated.

04/07/2025

The river that runs through Thaw Valley is a trickle — but the landscape it sits in tells a story of glacial chaos, ancient floods, and time on a different scale.

For the second year running, TerraDat UK Ltd. has partnered with A-level geology students from Cowbridge School through The Royal Society STEM Partnership scheme. Together, we tackled a deceptively simple question: “How deep was my valley?”

Armed with electrical resistivity tomography, aerial imaging and 3D terrain analysis, the students investigated the Vale of Glamorgan’s dramatic, meandering palaeo-valley — a landform far too large for the modest Thaw stream that flows through it today.

The valley is a misfit: a relic of meltwater torrents from retreating glaciers to the north. And thanks to these young geoscientists, we now understand its origin with fresh clarity.

Last night, their results were presented at the Royal Society’s Summer Science Exhibition. Watching them explain geophysical data to world-class researchers, Fellows and even Sir Chris Whitty was humbling. They weren’t just keeping up — they were shining.

At TerraDat, we believe the next generation doesn’t need to be inspired later. They need to be included now.

27/06/2025

An Earthquake of Emotion in Oviedo...

Geophysicists from TerraDat UK Ltd.'s Spanish office placed twelve seismometers around the city of Oviedo to monitor a football match between Real Oviedo and Mirandés.

Alemão Chaira's decisive goal and the final whistle caused detectable tremors in response to the crowd's celebrations.

These short-lived but intense events produced frequencies between 1.5 Hz and 3.5 Hz "typical of crowd noise, jumps and cheers"

13/06/2025

Here's a panoramic view of our study site invstigating the Thaw Valley near Cowbridge.

This also gives competitors in this weekend's Burn Series adventure race a bird's eye view of much of the run/bike/kayak course. Good luck everyone!

11/06/2025

Peter Brabham joined us today—for the second day of fieldwork with Cowbridge School’s A-level Geology students, as part of our STEM Partnership supported by The Royal Society.

Pete first introduced TerraDat co-founders Nick Russill and Rob McDonald to geophysics over 35 years ago as students of Cardiff University, so it was a reunion in the field—this time helping inspire the next generation.

We explored the Thaw Valley using geophysical techniques to investigate its origins as a classic misfit stream in a disproportionately large valley. Today’s focus was on acquiring subsurface data to help map the depth to bedrock and gather evidence supporting the glacial outwash theory.