It emerged from the ‘Rescue Archaeology Group’ (RAG) which was set up in 1970 by Chris Musson, who became the first Chief Executive of CPAT.

[1] The Trust undertook pioneering work on prehistoric sites in mid-Wales, beginning with the excavation of the Breidden hillfort (Powys) which was being destroyed by quarrying.

[2] This was followed by the excavation of a late Iron Age hillslope enclosure at Collfryn (Powys), which found evidence for intensive occupation and remodelling of the site, including round-houses and ‘four-poster’ structures that were probably granaries.

[3] CPAT has also undertaken extensive excavations of medieval sites such as Offa's Dyke and Hen Domen, near Montgomery.

In the 1970s Wales was the first part of the UK to develop a fully national system of what were then called ‘Sites and Monuments Records’; this fully computerised system was pioneered by Don Benson who was then Chief Executive of the Dyfed Archaeological Trust.

[7] In the 2010s the main focus of CPAT's fieldwork moved away from large-scale thematic studies of Welsh monuments and landscapes, to more site-specific work undertaken as part of development-led projects.

As a result control of the merged organisation passed to the former Director of DAT, and then subsequently to a new CEO who had been appointed in February 2024.

[10] The Trust system in Wales was characterised by depth of regional knowledge and expertise, which partly comes from having many different roles in one organisation.