Din Lligwy , Anglesey Lligwy Burial Chamber Lligwy trilogy Post 1

 

 5,000 years old Neolithic burial chamber with a huge 25 tonne capstone , one of the largest in the UK . The capstone was cut from larger limestone rock . Visible tapered grooves on two sides are the result of  wooden wedges being hammered  into man made holes , the wedge was then drenched in water to expand holes deep and wide enough to snap off chosen section .  The Capstone is supported by flat and short megaliths which would have made getting a massive rock into position easier . 

 Capstone is 18ft/5.5m long by 15ft/4.6m wide . 

 Burial Chamber was originally buried  beneath a mound of earth . 

 The tomb was excavated in 1908, human and animal bones , flint tools and pottery were among the finds .

Din Lligwy , Anglesey . Iron Age/Roman Settlement Llugwy trilogy Post 2 :

 

Din Llugwy (grid ref SH4970286134 ) is an Iron Age village which was later on occupied by Romans . The site covers an area over 1,100 square metres ,consiting of a communal area four rectangular buildings and two round huts surrounded by 1.5 (5') metre thick 1.2 m (4') high wall  .  Din Llugwy is close to Capel Lligwy (Post 3 ) 300 metre walk approx to the west side of field . Where there is a path through a small wood with wild garlic growing on both sides  .The original inhabitants settled here around 200BCE . The thick walls encircling the settlement are probably a weather shield rather than forifcation , the hilltop veiw would have been useful asset .These days the view down to  Lligwy Bay is obsured by a thicket of trees . Artefacts found here coins ,pottery and glass date from the late Roman period in the 3rd and 4th centuries .

Notched part of door frame , may be where timber placed across door on the inside was fitted . 

Lligwy , Anglesey .Post 3 : Capel Lligwy .

 

Anglesey is an interesting place to say the least .  On the last day we went  to a coastal area called Lligwy . We were there to visit three different ancient sites dating from the 12th century to the Bronze age  .

Quite a jump .

Capel Lligwy interior . 

 Large sandstone rock with chiselled out mortice to fit Cross .

 Steps leading to crypt

 

Church dates from the end of the Viking era ,when Nordic raiders began to settle on the island . Many converted to Christianity .These people must have built the  church ? .Sometime later the timber church was torn down to be rebuilt using stone .

Ruined Church .

Bryn yr Hen Bobl , Anglesey

 

Bidding adieu to Bryn Gelli Du , we trekked back to the main road . Plas Newydd Burial Chamber is next on the list two kilometres east along the main road . We opt for a slightly longer detour through woodland to a lesser known cairn 'Bryn yr Hen Bobl'  grid ref SH5188869 a stones throw from Plas Newydd . 

Heading east through woodland beneath tall trees and an abundance of flora and fauna . 

Wild garlic on both sides of the forest path . 

Exited the woods ,  path led into a stunning coniferous avenue a few hundred metres in length . 

Menai Strait in foreground . 

I kept thinking this area was sacred to the ancients .No evidence ..

Do you believe in magic ?

Cairn is positioned between two hills measures 40m x 30m x 5m high  

 Unseen Burial Chamber is bottom centre left .

Loose limestone used in the construction scattered over mound .

Panoramic view of mountain range , south east  . 

Capstone .

Burial chamber is as the bottom looking east over the Maenai Strait . 

 Bryn yr Hen Bobl , 'Hill of the Old People' was excavated from 1929 to 1935 where pieces of Neolithic pottery were found . 

Menai Strait Angelsey

The Menai Strait separates the island of Anglesey from Gwynedd, on the Welsh mainland . It was on this  stretch of water where a Roman Legion  refused to go across .So powerful was their belief in the dark magic of the Druids on the other side . 

 

Roman scribe/Historian Tacitus wrote 'Along the shore stood the enemy in a close-packed array of armed men interspersed with women dressed like Furies in funeral black, with streaming hair and brandishing torches. Round about were the Druids, their hands raised to heaven, pouring out dire curses. The Roman troops were so struck with dismay at this weird sight that they became rooted to the spot as though their limbs were paralysed and laid themselves open to wounds ' . 

 At the end of the day there was only going to be one outcome . 

. 'Bolstered by the encouragements of their commander and urging one another not to be afraid of this mass of fanatical women, they advanced with their standards, cut down all they met, and enveloped them in the flames of their own torches. After this a garrison was imposed on the conquered natives, and the groves devoted to their savage rites cut down; for it was part of their religion to drench their altars with the blood of captives and to consult their gods by means of human entrails.'

Summer Solstice 2025 Bryn Celli Ddu

 

Is there anybody out there . Thank you for your patience .

 

Last month I spent four days busing and hiking on the island  of Anglesey   , I could have hired a car  but the lure of free travel on the bus was too strong . I visited four amazing ancient spots .

 Today being a colossal day in the wheel of the year the only place to start is  with a   chambered tomb named Bryn Celli Ddu  grid ref SH50757017 . This is the second intact Neolithic burial site  I have seen on my travels . The other one is West Kennet Long Barrow  in Avebury  . Bryn Celli Ddu was opened , dicovered in 1699  . It's miraculous that such a magnificent structure is still here to marvel at the genius of the ancients  . Originally the site consisted of a henge with a stone circle set on the inside measuring 17 metres in diamater . Sometime later no one really knows when ,  a mound with a chambered tomb  inside it replaced the stone circle . Fint arrowheads, a stone bead, sea shells and human remains burnt and unburnt have been excavated . The centrepiece is a an 8 metre passageway leading to a small chamber with a standing stone within . The chamber and passage way are illuminated with the Sunrise on the Summer Solstice . Truly magnificent .

Passage leading to chamber .

 Tomb Guardian . Circular Blueschis stone pillar inside of chamber .

 Pattern Stone was placed outside the chamber .The original carved stone pillar has been removed for safe keeping .

Section of Stone Circle .

Snowdonia looking east from top of the mound .

Is anybody in ...

Summer Solstice 2024 Mynydd y Capel Standing Stone

 

To commemorate this years Solstice   I took  the train to  Merthyr Vale  . Once there I  hiked to the top of Mynydd y Capel which overlooks the town . Where there is a large cainfield and a standing stone .   (ST08499) .

 ..

Cairns are spread over a  plateau .

  Spectacular panoramic  views of hills and valleys dominate my eyeline . I can make out  the Black Mountains that tower over theTawe valley  in the distant  North East . The mighty twin peaks of   Pen y Fan  and Corn Du stand out  due North ..