A geographical dispute about a priceless hoard of prehistoric treasure is going to start between North and South Wales. About 150 Iron Age artefacts were discovered in an Anglesey bog in 1943 and sent to the National Museum of Wales in Cardiff for safekeeping and display. The Llyn Cerrig Bach collection remains the biggest Iron Age hoard ever found in Wales.
     Now some islanders want the artefacts returned, for local people to see them without having to travel to Cardiff and back. They say a permanent display of the treasures would help attract vital tourism to Anglesey, one of Wales' poorest counties. The museum plans to release some for a temporary exhibition in Llangefni, but Anglesey councillors Gwilym O Jones and Philip Fowlie want originals on permanent display locally.
     "In the old days, when these were discovered, they were all taken to Cardiff. It was common sense then," said Mr Jones, whose ward includes the bog where the treasure was found. "Now we've got a gallery which has been upgraded to display work by Kyffin Williams, which is very valuable. According to the Government in London, the security of the gallery is up to requirements. "I accept that these objects are of national and international interest. I accept that it's important that some are in the National Museum in Cardiff, but there should be opportunities to bring some of these treasures back to Sir Fôn so they're shown to the local people and visitors who come to the island.
     He said one solution could be a permanent display in Llangefni's Oriel Ynys Môn but with treasures rotating between Cardiff and Anglesey. When one group of objects returned to the capital, another group would replace it. A display of Llyn Cerrig Bach treasures could bolster the island's appeal to history enthusiasts. Anglesey's prehistoric remains include burial chambers, standing stones and hut circles. An exhibition on Neolithic life and death opens at Oriel Ynys Môn next month.
     The National Museum of Wales said it would not be returning original treasures for permanent display on Anglesey. Richard Brewer, keeper of archaeology, said: "We have been working with staff at Oriel Ynys Môn in developing educational resources for schools on Anglesey, which will include production of high quality replicas of significant items from the Llyn Cerrig Bach collection as a long-term resource, so that people can learn more about its significance and of the history behind the objects." In coming years, staff at Oriel Ynys Môn intend to work with the museum to create a temporary exhibition of key original objects from Llyn Cerrig Bach, he said.
     Eflyn Owen-Jones, whose father discovered the treasures, said she was campaigning to raise money for replicas of some objects for local display which would be useful because they could be taken to schools where they could be handled, rather than being kept in a glass cases.

Sources: WalesOnline, Western Mail (18 January 2010)

Last November during the hawthorn tree removal at the chamber entrance in trench 14 of the Caer Alyn Archaeological and Heritage Project, a boulder that appeared to be decorated with a cup mark was uncovered. This boulder had been the subject of much speculation and discussion among some of the excavators, so it was agreed to call in Professor George Nash, a world renowned rock art expert and enthusiast. He visited Caer Alyn and confirmed that we did have a fine example of a decorated boulder. It does, in fact, have three cup marks on it, probably dated to early Bronze Age.
     This gives archaeologists a bit of a puzzle: is the boulder a random decorated boulder that has been taken from a bigger local panel and re-used as part of the trench 14 wall or was it placed there on purpose?  Either way, the discovery is very exciting as rock art is not recorded in North East Wales and is uncommon in North Wales in general.
     An in-depth report of the excavation can be downloaded from tinyurl.com/yksspcc

Source: Caer Alyn (26 November 2009)

An archaeological dig in North Wales has unearthed Iron Age remains thought to be about 3,000 years old. The excavation, by Bangor University's School of History and Denbighshire and Flintshire's Heather and Hillforts Project, was carried out on Moel y Gaer hillfort on the Clwydian Range. Investigators discovered that parts of the site, which contain metal working slag and dry-stone facing, date back to some time between the seventh and second century BCE.
     No artifacts have yet been found, but excavation leader Professor Karl, head of the university school and professor of archaeology and heritage, said pottery was virtually non-existent in the area during the Iron Age. He added: "We have recovered some quite substantial charcoal samples so we can try to arrange carbon dating, which should hopefully narrow down our dating range for the construction of the rampart. I consider the dig to have been a great success and the results will hopefully answer the research questions we started out with as well as having opened up a couple of new ones - which we may try to explore in further fieldwork either at Moel y Gaer at some of the other hillforts in the area."

Sources: BBC News (1 September 2009), Daily Post (2 September 2009), Evening Leader (3 September 2009)

Piecing together art and history, pupils from Ysgol Caer Drewyn, Corwen (Denbighshire, north-east Wales), took part in a mosaic project with artist Patricia Jones aimed at promoting the Iron Age hillfort Caer Drewyn whose site lies above the town. Since the beginning of the year, Caer Drewyn pupils from years five and six have been hard at work with Patricia of Classical Mosaic and the Heather and Hillforts Project to create a large mosaic, which will be displayed outside Corwen Leisure Centre. "The aim was to incorporate imagery of the hillfort and its historical Celtic associations, as well as flora and fauna of the area and references to distinctive buildings from the town of Corwen," said Patricia. Materials used included mosaic vitreous glass, Italian smalti, ceramic, recycled china and porcelain, glass beads and granite pebbles within a frame of wind-blown, seasoned, locally sourced oak.
     Erin Robinson, Heather and Hillforts interpretation officer, said: "Caer Drewyn hillfort is managed by Denbighshire County Council's Countryside Service and enjoyed and visited by many. We hope that this beautiful mosaic at the start of the trail to the fort will encourage more people to enjoy this spectacular and special place for years to come." The three year Heather and Hillforts Project is developing a £2.3 million initiative for upland conservation work and has received a grant of £1.5 million from the Heritage Lottery Fund. For more information visit heatherandhillforts.co.uk

Source: Denbigshire Free Press (30 July 2009)

A Bronze Age burial mound, thought to be at least 3,500 years old, has been discovered in Penycloddiau, Denbighshire (North Wales). The ancient resting place was discovered in an excavation of the Penycloddiau Iron Age hillfort, which lies between Llandyrnog and Nannerch, by the Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust.
     The mound had been heavily eroded by the Offa's Dyke trail, which runs across the top of it and through the centre of the hillfort. Although no dating evidence was found, archaeologists could distinguish the mound as being Bronze Age. One of the most obvious discoveries was a 'robbers' trench' - a large hole where the burial should have been - including a rectangular shape cut into the bedrock directly underneath the trench. Samantha Williams, hillforts conservation officer said: "Unfortunately for us, they were really good and took everything away, rather than looking simply for treasure."

Source: Evening Leader (8 June 2009)

A Bronze Age road has been found below Swansea's shifting foreshore (Wales). The short section of track was discovered by a metal detector enthusiast and archaeologists have now dated it to around 4,000 years ago. Woven from narrow branches of oak and alder the structure was covered in a thin layer of brushwood to provide a level walking-surface.
     It was found in March when it was uncovered by storms but has since disappeared back under the marine clay. Brian Price, a member of the Swansea Metal Detecting Club, reported the discovery opposite the Brynmill area to the Glamorgan-Gwent Archaeological Trust. A sample was sent to the Beta Analytic Radiocarbon Laboratory in Florida for dating and was found to be from the early Bronze Age - sometime between 2140 and 1930 BCE.
     Andrew Sherman, assistant project officer, said: "During the early Bronze Age the climate was drier and warmer than today and the sea level was significantly lower. The trackway was therefore probably built through a wet, marshy environment. Because it has been eroded by the tide it is impossible to tell whether the entire trackway was composed of hurdles, or whether occasional hurdles were laid to cross particularly wet patches of ground."
     The trust said there was very little evidence of Early Bronze Age settlements in the area with lots of funeral and ritual sites such as barrows, cairns and standing stones, but no habitation structures. "The explanation for this may simply lie in the nature of a nomadic existence, which militates against the construction of substantial dwellings," added Mr Sherman.

Sources: BBC News (23 May 2009), Newspost Online (26 May 2009)

Ancient artefacts, more than 2,000 years old, should be brought back to Anglesey (Wales) claims an island politician. A large hoard of Iron Age materials were discovered in Llyn Cerrig Bach, Llanfair-yn-Neubwll, in 1942. The items are currently kept in Cardiff, but local councillor Gwilym O Jones believes the treasure troves should brought back and displayed at Llangefni's Oriel Môn. And the council agrees, explaining they are currently in talks on that very subject.
     Cllr Jones said: "I understand why the treasures were taken down to the National Museum in Cardiff. At the time there was nowhere secure enough on Anglesey to keep them. But that has changed in recent years. I feel that now is the time to campaign to bring the treasures back. I'm not talking about bringing them back permanently, but I feel they should here for part of the year, say through the summer months. I think many people would be interested in seeing them."
     Anglesey County Council's head of museums, archives and culture, Pat West, said: "We have a good working relationship with the National Museum and are in negotiations with them about holding a short term exhibition of the artefact found at Llyn Cerrig Bach. "As yet we have no set date for an exhibition but it would be in the next two to three years."
     Chariots, weapons, tools and decorated metalwork items were cast from a causeway or island into Llyn Cerrig Bach between 300 BCE and 100 CE. They were discovered in 1942 by William Roberts as the airfield was being extended to accommodate the US air force bomber, The Flying Fortress. The site was investigated by Sir Cyril Fox, the then keeper of archaeology at the National Museum of Wales in 1946.

Source: Anglesey Mail (29 April 2009)

Welsh people are needed for DNA tests to prove their distant ancestors moved from the Mediterranean to north west Wales as migrant workers 4,000 years ago. Participants will be asked for a cheek swab sample for genetic analysis. Researchers at the University of Sheffield hope to link the migration of men in the Bronze Age to the discovery of copper.
     The metal was found at both Parys Mountain on Anglesey, and on the Great Orme at Llandudno, Conwy. The researchers are building on previous work carried out in the area which found a much higher-than-average presence of a DNA marker that is commonly found in people from the Balkans and Spain. "The more men we get the better as the previous work involved only a handful of people. Really we need figures into the hundreds," said Dr Bob Johnston, from the research team. "If it does turn out that there is a distinctive genetic signature we can find where they came from, and if it is genuinely from the Mediterranean we can find when they got here," said Dr Johnston. "After finding when the workers came here the researchers will then be able to discover what skills they bought with them," he added.
     Despite the evidence still being traceable it is unlikely that the population in north west Wales will look Mediterranean however. "It was probably only a small number, and it was 4,000 years ago, so the actual physical looks is not there any more," said Dr Johnson. Parys Mountain is one of only three sites in Wales which have evidence of copper mining during the Bronze and Roman Ages.

Source: BBC News (20 April 2009)

Rare Iron Age artefacts buried as part of a religious offering have been unearthed by an amateur treasure hunter. Two bronze bowls and a bronze wine strainer, described by an expert as of "great importance for the UK," were found by Craig Mills in his home city of Newport, South Wales. He came across the items in the Langstone area in December 2007, only nine months after he took up metal detecting.
     It is believed the objects were used by ancestors for eating or drinking and were deliberately buried intact as a religious offering. The items are believed to have been made around 25-60 CE and were buried at the time of the Roman army's campaign against the Iron Age Silures tribe of South Wales, between 47 and 75 CE. The two near-complete bowls have rounded bases, carefully formed rims and decorated fittings with rings for hanging them up and the strainer has a rounded bowl-shaped body with a wide, flat rim and a similar suspension ring. The decoration on all the vessels is of the late Celtic or La Tene style of the late Iron Age.
     Adam Gwilt, curator of the Iron Age Collections at the National Museum of Wales, said: "This discovery is of great importance for Wales and the UK. Similar bowls have been found in western and southern Britain, but few find-spots have been carefully and recently investigated by archaeologists. It seems these valued and whole containers were carefully buried at the edge of an ancient bog or lake, as part of a ritual offering. We are looking forward to researching and investigating further during 2009, in order to reveal the full story of how these impressive decorated pieces were made, used and buried."
     It is hoped the bowls and wine strainer will be displayed at the National Museum of Wales in 2010 in the Origins: In Search of Early Wales gallery.

Sources: BBC News, WalesOnline (19 March 2009)

From 18th to 22nd June 2009 Archaeology Safaris Ltd. will organize a 4-day Rock-Art Project Field School and Excavation in Anglesey (Wales). For the students taking part there will be an administrative cost to cover insurance, equipment, campsite costs, field tours and tutors, the total cost for the four days is £115.
     The excavation will be taking place at Llwydiarth Esgob Stone (NGR: SH436844). Noted in an article by Frances Lynch in 1974 that the boulder was in the garden of Llwydiarth Esgob near Llannerch-y-medd. A double cup and ring mark with groove and further cupmarks on a boulder approximately 1m in length. A recent photographic survey (Nash & Stanford 2009) has indicated that there is in fact much more to the art than previously thought. As well as the possibility of below ground rock-art the survey may have revealed distinct similarities with art of the Boyne Valley, thus strongly adding further to the suggestion of an Irish influence for the rock-art found in Anglesey and north Wales.
     Experts are investigating the possibility of further art below the present ground level and wish to record the panel complete, the stone may also have been removed from a now destroyed, but unknown monument nearby, so this will also be investigated as well as conducting rock-art surveys and recording at other monuments on Anglesey including Barclodiad y Gawres where we have discovered art in recent photographic surveys. Field tours of the many fascinating monuments on Anglesey will take place in small groups during the four days of the project. Techniques covered are, excavation and recording, special methods of photographic and other non/minimal contact recording of megalithic rock-art.
     If you would like to join the project then please contact Adam Stanford at enquiries@archaeology-safaris.co.uk and a deposit payment of £50 can be arranged via PayPal or bank transfer or cheque. Places are limited so do book early.

Source: Rock Art Mailing List (3 March 2009)