Bodowyr Burial Chamber 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 A chamber tomb is a tomb for burial used in many different cultures. In the case of individual burials, the chamber is thought to signify a higher status for the interred than a simple grave. Built from rock or sometimes wood, the chambers could ...

made of a few large stacked stones (also known as a dolmen or a

passage grave A passage grave or passage tomb consists of one or more burial chambers covered in earth or with stone, and having a narrow access passage made of large stones. These structures usually date from the Neolithic Age, and are found largely in Wester ...

) in a farmer's field on the

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 ...

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 ...

. It is located at Bodowyr Farm, east of Llangaffo, off the B4419 road.

Burial chamber

Writing in the ''Mona Antiqua Restaurata'' in the early eighteenth century, the antiquarian Henry Rowland described this as "a pretty cromlech standing at the top of a hillock at Bodowyr". He also mentioned a "small cirque" nearby and the remnants of a cairn from which the stones had mostly been removed for use as building stone; no trace remains of these structures. In 1833 the capstone was said to be supported by four upright stones so one of these would appear to have fallen since then. Bodowyr Burial Chamber is the central burial chamber of a

of a type more frequently found in Ireland. The chamber has three upright stones about a metre high supporting a robust, wedge-shaped capstone. A large stone lying flat nearby on the western side may have been part of the structure, perhaps another upright, or a blocking stone, and another low stone beside the entrance to the east which was perhaps a kerb or sill. Originally a mound of earth or rubble would have covered or partially covered the dolmen, and there would have been a passage from the entrance on the southeast to the side of the mound. The mound has since been completely dispersed. The location is on level, low-lying ground and it is not apparent why this particular site should have been chosen. The fact that Snowdon and the

Glyderau The Glyderau (a Welsh plural form, also known in English as the Glyders) are a mountain group in Snowdonia, North Wales. The name derives from the highest peaks in the range, Glyder Fawr and Glyder Fach. According to Sir Ifor Williams, the word ...

are visible in the distance, with the Llanberis Pass between them, may be significant, and there may be some solar or lunar alignment as seen from the entrance that has not yet been elucidated.

Access

Bodowyr Burial Chamber is under the care of the Welsh Heritage organisation Cadw. It is open throughout the year, apart from 24, 25 and 26 December and 1 January, between the hours of 10am and 4pm. It can be accessed by walking across a sometimes muddy field. There is no entry charge.

References

{{coord, 53.18769, N, 4.30330, W, region:GB_source:enwiki-osgb36(SH462681), display=title Prehistoric sites in Anglesey Cadw Dolmens in Wales Llanidan Scheduled monuments in Anglesey