Gwynedd Archaeological
Trust Regional Historic Environment Record
Lligwy Burial Chamber, Moelfre
Primary Reference Number (PRN) : 3594 Trust : Gwynedd Community : Moelfre Unitary authority : Ynys Mon NGR : SH50148604 Site Type (preferred type first) : NEOLITHIC CHAMBERED TOMB Status : Scheduled Monument , Cared for by the State
Description : First reference to it was made by Pennant in 1781. Skinner visited it and gives some details and two sketches in his Tour Through Anglesey in 1802, in which he says the covering earth mound had been removed.
Excavated in 1908, the capstone is 18ft 3in by 15ft 9in and 3ft 6in thick. The stones forming the sides are 8 in number. The capstone is supported by the two horizontal stones on each side of the entrance to the E and by a long stone set on edge on the W. The five remaining stones from 3ft to 4ft in length stand upon an artificial foundation of rough stones laid horizontally.
The level of soil within the chamber was about 2ft below the capstone and about 2ft deep. Below this was a 1in thick layer of red, clayey soil with limpet shells embedded in it and immediately below it. Then came a 15in layer of black soil and stones in which was dispersed some human and animal bones, flint scrapers, and fragments of pottery. Below this was a 3in thick paving stone, below which was a 9in thick layer of black soil and small stones with bones, worked flints and fragments of pottery. At the bottom was a wet, stick soil containing a quantity of mussel shells. At a distance of about 6ft below the capstone, undisturbed soil was reached.
The finds were 4 flint scrapers, flint flakes and pieces of flint; fragments of a coarse brown pottery with an incised design of zigzag lines; fragments of coarse black pottery; two fragments of ware, one piece of rim having a zigzag pattern; parts of 12 or more human jaws, a few of which later appeared to be identical to Eskimo jaw bones; and many fragments of skulls and bones, one of which was a foot bone of especial interest, being that of a six-toed individual; bones and teeth of a small ox, a sheep and a young pig; portions of the horns and bones of red and roe deer; the femur of a fox; the wing-bone of a fowl; and portions of an otter's skull.
An opening was made in the soil just to the N of the cromlech and at a depth of 4ft was found black soil containing a quantity of human teeth and fragments of bone, a flint scraper, a bone pin 4 1/2ins long by 1/4in thick and pointed at one end, and some teeth of bos, pig, and dog. The soil extended only 3ft 6ins from the cromlech and suggested that an entry into the chamber may have been forced here.
There is no record or tradition of the burials which have taken place here or as to the origin of this cromlech. <2>
There is one feature about the arrangement of the uprights of this dolmen which appears to be exceptional. The SE supporter points almost exactly due E and on the opposite side is a flat slab pointing almost due W. On the S side, another flat slab, set at right angles to the wall of the chamber points toward the S, but movement of the capstone has shifted it slightly. These features point to an early age when some form of sun worship was practised as the equinoxes and the solstices can be ascertained by the alignment of these stones. Sir Norman Lockyer obtained a clock star alignment from an outlying stone in a neighbouring field, enabling him to suggest 1200 to 1000 BC as the date of the monuments execution.
It is probable that a passage led up to the entrance and three stones found lying outside the chamber may have been used in its construction. Most of the pieces of pottery are precisely similar to those found at Din Lligwy Village. It is an equinoctial monument and is composed of carboniferous limestone throughout. A natural outcrop of large limestone slabs, lying on the surface is to be found within a few yards of the monument. <3>
Some of the pottery from Lligwy Burial Chamber has Neolithic affinities which one sherd suggests kinship with the Early Bronze Age. <4>
Situated on a level limestone plateau 1 1/4m E of the parish church of St. Michael. The chamber is remarked for the large size of its coverstone and the lowness of its supporters. It is built over a natural fissure in the limestone rock. No remains of the cairn are now visible. The chamber is as described in <2>. Condition: good, but denuded. In custody of H. M. Commissioners of Works. (RCAHMW, 1937)
SH50138603 Burial chamber (LB). <6>
As described in <2> and <3>. In the Ministry's guardianship. <7>
As described in <2>, <3>, <5>. <8>
The chamber at Lligwy produced several sherds of pottery and some flints. There was a layer of paving, but unfortunately the position of only one sherd was recorded, that of a rim, decorated with cardium shell impressions, which came from above the paving and has been compared with similarly decorated Beakers from Newborough Warren; and as it definitely comes from the higher level of the deposit the link is not unlikely. Two other rim sherds are of Romano British type, and are probably to be connected with the settlement at Din Llygwy nearby.
A polished bone pin, 11.4cm long, is of unspecialised type like that found at the chamber of Bryn yr Hen Bobl, and may also be compared with those from the Late Neolithic burials at Duggle by Hawe, Yorkshire. In the present circumstances, therefore, it is difficult to decide if there is any specific cultural background from this artefact. <9>
As described above. <10>
In guardianship. <12>
As described <2>, <3>, <4>, <5>, <9>. See ground plan. <13>
Site located on a gently undulating limestone plateau 1km from the coast. Clearly visible from all but NW, it stands at the break of slope just to the SE of a small local summit. Monument very well described elsewhere. Unusually low chamber with a massive capstone close to 4 x 4 x 1m. Current ground level in chamber is about 1.2m below capstone. Constructed from local limestone. Excavated in 1908 (Baynes 1909 Arch Camb). (Smith, 2003)
Llugwy. — This is in a field on Llugwy Farm, on the left-hand of the road from Hedwharfe to Llugwy Bay. The capstone rests on ten low supports. This is an indication that its form is abnormal, and that it is probably the remnant of what was at one time a group of chambers (Anwyl, 1908).
“facing the ocean is a cromlech the upper stone six yards long, five yards and a half wide, and three feet thick. One end rests upon a bank of earth [footnote: At this end it rests on a flat rock] and the other is supported by four or five small upright stones, leaving a hollow beneath about two feet high.” (Skinner, 1802) (Sketches on pp. 78, 80).
“An immense mass of Limestone, covering a space set round with large low Stones, making a large Chamber within, having two entrances. This immense lid Stone lies perfectly horizontal, and measures 17 Feet by 15½ over, its mean thickness 3 Feet 9.” (Fenton, 1810).
It is, in fact, not easy to assign Llugwy as it is now to one or other of the two main groups of Neolithic or Early Bronze Age communal burial chambers - Passage Graves or Chambered Long Cairns. Closer inspection reveals a peculiar feature which is only found occasionally in Britain. The massive capstone is very low, resting partly on uprights, partly on horizontal stones, partly on the natural rock surface. This is because the chamber space itself consists mainly of a rock-cut pit, which is roofed over by the capstone. Excavations by Mr. Neil Baynes in 1908 produced a quantity of human bones, pottery, and other objects. The pottery is of special interest, since it includes decorated wares of varieties unrepresented elsewhere in Wales. (Griffiths, Savory & Craster, 1952).
mention of work carried out the previous year by Baynes and finds -a number of human remains, pottery fragments and flint scrapers (Anon, 1909).
In February 2023 Gwynedd Archaeological Trust carried out a small evaluation excavation immediately adjacent to the Lligwy Burial Chamber to investigate mole damage to the buried archaeology. Quantities of finds, including fragments of human bone and teeth, were found scattered through the topsoil. It was concluded that these were brought to the surface by mole activity from the layers immediately below. A probable ditch cut across the corner of the trench, along with what appears to be another feature. These features cut through a dump of soil and stones, that might be part of the mound round the tomb. Sealed under this deposit was a layer rich in finds, especially fragmentary human remains. This layer sealed stones, initially interpreted as broken bedrock, but which might prove to be the fill of a cut or hollow against the northern side of the tomb. The natural deposits were represented by a clean glacial clay. Finds consisted of human bone and teeth, some animal bone, worked chert and flint (including a fine leaf-shaped arrowhead), Early Neolithic pottery, marine shells and beach pebbles (Kenney 2023).
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