Barclodiad y Gawres

200m
220yds

Barclodiad y Gawres

Cable Bay

  

Location of Barclodiad y Gawres, on the headland north of Cable Bay, Anglesey

Panorama from above burial chamber in 2014

Burial chamber entrance

Barclodiad y Gawres (Welsh for 'The Giantess's Apronful'; Welsh pronunciation: [barkˌlɔdjad ə ˈgau̯rɛs]) is a Neolithic burial chamber between Rhosneigr and Aberffraw on the south-western coast of the island of Anglesey in North Wales. It is an example of a cruciform passage grave, a notable feature being its decorated stones. Similar graves and marks exist across the Irish Sea in the Boyne Valley.

Excavations

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, frog, toad, grass snake, 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.

Location

More or less equidistant from Aberffraw and Rhosneigr, 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

• 
  View from the entrance, surf in Cymyran Bay
• 
  View eastwards over Porth Trecastell cove from the side of Barclodiad y Gawres
• 
  The chamber; small adult for scale
• 
  Chevron marks on stone in chamber
• 
  Spiral mark on stone in chamber

See also

• Petrosomatoglyph Wavy lines, spirals, chevrons and lozenge petroglyphs.
• List of Cadw properties

External links

• "Barloadiau Y Gawres" (PDF). cadw.gov.wales.
• Map sources for Barclodiad y Gawres