Treffgarne, United Kingdom

Treffgarne (Welsh: Trefgarn, or town of the rock) is a small village and parish in Pembrokeshire, south-west Wales. It lies to the south of the Preseli Hills close to the Western Cleddau river, and close to the main A40 road from Fishguard to Haverfordwest. The area has an interesting local geology and evidence of mineral extraction at least as far back as Roman times. The present village is medieval in origin.

The village name is derived from the Welsh-language words tref ("town") and carn ("cairn, mound, rock"). The reference in this case is to the Treffgarne Rocks, a series of ancient Ordovician rhyolite volcanic plugs, now exposed, that form the Roche Rhyolite Group. A number of interesting minerals have been recorded including Brookite crystals (Titanium dioxide) and possibly tin. Small regular cavities can be found in the rocks where crystals of at least 1 cm width once resided. Gold has also been found at the rocks from drillcores and placer gold in the local Western Cleddau below the village. There is also an old legend of old gold workings near Treffgarne (possibly towards the farm Mount Pleasant) from the Roman period. Roman activity is certainly attested in the region with at least two Romano-British settlements nearby at Ambleston (Castle Flemming) and Wolfscastle and a possible extension of the Roman road from Carmarthen into Pembrokeshire.