We do  have some reminders of these Cistercian roots. Possibly the piscina or holy water container, now mounted in one of the garden walls, may be monastic. Supplies were stored in barns in monastic times. The ruins of a barn, known as the Tithe Barn, do exist in the Abbey grounds. Although such a barn would certainly have existed in monastic times, it is more likely that the present ruin is a replica of the original, built from stones from the original monastery building. We do however know with certainty that a few remnants of the Cistercian Abbey still exist. At a time when few people could read or write, it was very important that documents could be recognised as being authentic. To ensure this, documents were closed with a seal . A seal was a die or stamp cut into a hard substance and then pressed into wax to leave an impression. An Abbey would have its own seal. In our case there are two such seals.

The Tithe Barn - now ruined

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One was, until quite recently, in the possession of Newport Museum and Art Gallery. It depicts a squirrel and written in old English are the words “I crack nuts”. This seal was found in the grounds of Llantarnam Abbey in 1987 but the museum cannot offer any further information. There may be a link between the squirrel seal and the squirrel which surmounts one of the windows on the second floor of the house overlooking the garden. The other seal is that of St Mary Magdalene on whose feast the Abbey was founded. This is housed in the British Library. It shows a monk, presumably Bernard, the Cistercian founder, blessing 3 people. This dates back to 14th Century. The Llantarnam Abbey Archives hold a photograph of this seal.