Lligwy 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 ...

Lligwy Lligwy is an electoral ward on the northeast coast of Anglesey, Wales. It includes the communities Moelfre, Llaneugrad, Llanfair-Mathafarn-Eithaf (including the village of Benllech) and Pentraeth; and the electoral ward of Llanfihangel Tre ...

, near the east coast 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 ...

, Wales, United Kingdom. It consists of a circle of upright stones, made into a low chamber by a very large roof slab estimated at 25 tonnes. Excavation in 1909 found the remains of some 15 to 30 people, and pottery suggesting a late Neolithic date. Close to the village of Moelfre, the site is within a few metres of the road, where there is room to leave a single car for short periods.

Burial chamber

Lligwy Burial Chamber is a very robust, neolithic chamber. The eight uprights which support the massive capstone are larger than they at first appear, because half of their height is buried in the ground. The capstone is about long and wide, with a thickness of around . It is estimated to weigh about and is in contact with only three of the uprights. A gap between the uprights on the eastern side probably indicates where an entrance passage stood, with a way out of the mound; It is unclear whether this chambered tomb was covered by a cairn, but if it was, no trace remains today. Deep grooves in the limestone capstone imply that erosion by rainfall has taken place, further evidence that the structure may not have been covered by a cairn. Excavations in 1909 discovered artefacts in two separate layers, indicating that the site was used during two separate periods. The bones from up to thirty people have been found in the chamber, as well as shellfish (

mussels Mussel () is the common name used for members of several families of bivalve molluscs, from saltwater and freshwater habitats. These groups have in common a shell whose outline is elongated and asymmetrical compared with other edible clams, which ...

and

limpets Limpets are a group of aquatic snails that exhibit a conical shell shape (patelliform) and a strong, muscular foot. Limpets are members of the class Gastropoda, but are polyphyletic, meaning the various groups called "limpets" descended indep ...

) and many animal bones. Fragments of pottery from the two different settlements periods are present;

grooved ware Grooved ware is the name given to a pottery style of the British Neolithic. Its manufacturers are sometimes known as the Grooved ware people. Unlike the later Beaker ware, Grooved culture was not an import from the continent but seems to have de ...

dating to the

period and beaker ware from the early

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second prin ...

. Some to the west lies the well-preserved Din Lligwy hut circle, but this is not a contemporary structure, probably dating from the second to fourth centuries AD. Lligwy Burial Chamber is a

scheduled ancient monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...

. The

Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales (RCAHMW; cy, Comisiwn Brenhinol Henebion Cymru; ), established in 1908, is a Welsh Government sponsored body concerned with some aspects of the archaeological, architectur ...

curates the archaeological, architectural and historic records for this site. Included in the archives are many digital images of the site, a DOE photographic collection, NMR site files, Cadw guardianship records, colour photographs, black and white photographs, aerial photographs and an extract from the June 1933 edition of ''Archaeologia Cambrensis'' with the title "The Pottery from the Lligwy Burial Chamber, Anglesey".

Media

The HeritageTogether project has used photogrammetry to create 3D models of the site

Access

The burial chamber is in the care of Cadw; the site is open to the public, free of charge, throughout the year, except for Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day. The burial chamber is very close to the road and can be accessed on foot from a parking bay at the edge of the unclassified road, about north of

Llanallgo Llanallgo (; ) is a small village a mile from the coast of the island of Anglesey. The community is in the community of Moelfre, Ynys Môn, Wales, which is 136.4 miles (219.6 km) from Cardiff and 214.9 miles (345.9 km) from London ...

References

External links

Cadw's page on Lligwy Burial Chamber

Three ages of Lligwy - history of the burial chamber, village and church.
3D model of Lligwy Burial Chamber
{{European Standing Stones Prehistoric sites in Anglesey Moelfre, Anglesey Dolmens in Wales Scheduled monuments in Anglesey