Chamber of secrets
THE LATEST 3D modelling technology has led archaeologists to believe that a 5,000 year old ancient burial mound may have been part of a much larger complex.
Rock art, pottery deposits and flint tools are just some of the remarkable finds by experts who have spent the last three summers studying a late neolithic passage tomb on Anglesey.
Bryn Celli Ddu in Llanddaniel Fab, near Gaerwen, boasts a special feature meaning that on the summer solstice, a beam of light is cast down the passage, lighting up the entire chamber.
It was built to not only protect and pay respect to the remains of ancestors, but also as an important socialising point.
But experts have now hailed a “very exciting discovery”, with a groundpenetrating radar survey now suggesting that the mound seen today, which was excavated and reconstructed in 1928, is likely just a part of a larger cairn cemetery complex covering a much wider area.
Dr Ben Edwards, from Manchester Metropolitan University, said: “The geophysical survey, combined with innovative digital modelling, has raised the possibility of a cairn cemetery surrounding the original monument, something never suspected before”.
Dr Seren Griffiths, from the University of Central Lancashire, said: “We know that Bryn Celli Ddu sits in a much more complicated landscape that previously thought.
“Over the last three years, we have discovered 10 new rock art panels, and this year the picture has developed to include further evidence for a new Bronze Age cairn along with a cluster of prehistoric pits”.
Dr Griffiths added: “We have evidence for over 5,000 years’ worth of human activity in the landscape, ranging from worked flint derived from the tool making efforts of our prehistoric ancestors to prehistoric burial cairns and pits with pottery deposited within.”
The project to shed further light on what remains hidden at Bryn Celli Ddu has been led by academics from the University of Central Lancashire, Manchester Metropolitan University, and Cadw, the historic environment service for the Welsh Government.