Panorama above Barclodiad y Gawres Burial chamber

Barclodiad y Gawres ( Welsh for "The Giantess's Apronful") is a

Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several p ...

burial chamber between

Rhosneigr Rhosneigr (; ) is a village in the south-west of Anglesey, north Wales. It is situated on the A4080 road some 10 km south-east of Holyhead, and is on the Anglesey Coastal Path. From the clock at the centre of the village can be seen RAF V ...

and

Aberffraw Aberffraw is a village and community on the south west coast of the Isle of Anglesey ( cy, Ynys Môn), in Wales, by the west bank of the Afon Ffraw (Ffraw River). The community includes Soar and Dothan. Located near the A4080 and the neares ...

on the south-western coast of the island of

Anglesey Anglesey (; cy, (Ynys) Môn ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms a principal area known as the Isle of Anglesey, that includes Holy Island across the narrow Cymyran Strait and some islets and skerries. Anglesey island ...

North Wales North Wales ( cy, Gogledd Cymru) is a region of Wales, encompassing its northernmost areas. It borders Mid Wales to the south, England to the east, and the Irish Sea to the north and west. The area is highly mountainous and rural, with Snowdonia N ...

. It is an example of a

cruciform passage grave Cruciform passage graves describe a complex example of prehistoric passage grave found in Ireland, west Wales and Orkney and built during the later Neolithic, from around 3500 BC and later. They are distinguished by a long passage leading to a ...

, a notable feature being its decorated stones. Similar graves and marks exist across the Irish Sea in the Boyne Valley.Frances Lynch. A guide to ancient and historic Wales. Gwynedd. . HMSO. pp 11-12 Full excavations were performed in 1952–53, after which the chamber was re-roofed with concrete and covered with turf to resemble the original structure. During the excavations two cremated young male burials were found within the south-western side-chamber. The central area of the main chamber contained the remains of a fire on which had been poured a stew which had been made with wrasse,

eel Eels are ray-finned fish belonging to the order Anguilliformes (), which consists of eight suborders, 19 families, 111 genera, and about 800 species. Eels undergo considerable development from the early larval stage to the eventual adult stage ...

frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order Anura (ανοὐρά, literally ''without tail'' in Ancient Greek). The oldest fossil "proto-frog" ''Triadobatrachus'' is ...

, toad,

grass snake The grass snake (''Natrix natrix''), sometimes called the ringed snake or water snake, is a Eurasian non-venomous colubrid snake. It is often found near water and feeds almost exclusively on amphibians. Subspecies Many subspecies are recognized ...

, mouse, shrew and hare, then covered with limpet shells and pebbles. During the excavations five stones with carvings—spirals, zig-zags, lozenges and chevrons—were discovered. A sixth stone with carvings was discovered in 2001. More or less equidistant from

and

, it is on the north side of Porth Trecastell, on the Anglesey Coastal Path, and a short walk from the A4080. It is cared for by the Welsh heritage organisation Cadw.

Gallery

Image:View over Rhosneigr from the entrance to Barclodiad y Gawres.JPG , View from the entrance, surf in Cymyran Bay Image:Porth Trecastell surf from Barclodiad y Gawres.JPG , View eastwards over Porth Trecastell cove from the side of Barclodiad y Gawres Image:Marian in the chamber at Barclodiad y Gawres.JPG , The chamber; small adult for scale Image:Chevron marks on stone at Barclodiad y Gawres.JPG , Chevron marks on stone in chamber Image:Spiral mark on stone in Barclodiad y Gawres.JPG , Spiral mark on stone in chamber

References

External links

* * {{Coord, 53.2073, N, 4.5036, W, region:GB_type:landmark, display=title Prehistoric sites in Anglesey Cadw Stone Age sites in Wales Aberffraw Scheduled monuments in Anglesey

Gallery

See also

References

External links