Gwynedd Archaeological
Trust Regional Historic Environment Record
Cored Ddu Fish Trap, Llanfairpwllgwyngyll
Primary Reference Number (PRN) : 7219 Trust : Gwynedd Community : Llanfair Pwllgwyngyll Unitary authority : Ynys Mon NGR : SH54647159 Site Type (preferred type first) : UNKNOWN FISH WEIR Status : Scheduled Monument
Description : A very well preserved dry stone trap. The wall runs out at a right angle from the shore for 70m before tuning through 90 degrees to the east and curving towards a low rocky island 96m to the east. Much of the island is covered at high tide but the southern side stands to a similar height as the gorad wall and forms part of the barrier. A few traces of a wall can be seen on its highest point. The wall then continues for another 80m to the east. A natural channel through the centre of the island appears to have been artificially widened perhaps to allow an easier passage into the trap for the fish. A well defined sluice can be seen at the western end of the southern wall. The eastern side of the sluice is well preserved and contains a U shaped groove which in the latter days of the weir held an iron grating (Lewes 1924). The western side of the sluice is now ruinous. The wall has been breached 5m to the west of the sluice and is very unstable at this point. The wall has lost structural integrity here and the tide flows into the weir through the breach thus causing further damage. The breach was caused when power cables were run to Ynys Gorad Goch in 1997. The wall was reinstated at the time but was obviously poorly built. When the site was surveyed less than a year later a 2m wide breach was visible. (Hopewell, 2000).
