10-year anniversary celebrated at iconic ancient history site

One of Wales’ most important historical sites is gearing up for a series of celebration and folklore events to celebrate ten years of ongoing archaeological works.

Bryn Celli Ddu, near Llanfair PG, is one of the most famous archaeological sites in Britain.

The 5,000-year-old tomb was once constructed to protect and pay respect to the remains of ancestors.

Archaeology Open Day

Between 11–4pm on 15 June 2024, an open day celebrating the prehistory of Wales and beyond will take place at the site.

This year, organisers are taking a focused look at the archaeology and ancient history from the Neolithic and Bronze Age of Wales and beyond and highlighting the use of colour in the past.

Throughout the day, attendees will be invited to watch live flint knapping demonstrations with flint experts Ancient Crafts; take a bilingual archaeology tour of the monument with the famous punk antiquarian Rhys Mwyn; explore the archaeological excavation and join in a tour of the current trench; watch demonstrations of ancient rock art making techniques; through to finding out more about ancient natural dyes, ochre mineral paint pigments and the colourful geology of the island with Stone Science and GeoMôn geologists.

Folklore event

Between 4–8pm on 22 June 2024, visitors are invited to join archaeologists and artists at Bryn Celli Ddu for a fascinating afternoon of talks, tours and a folklore inspired procession and performance, as the people of Wales celebrate the 10^th year anniversary of the project.

The event will welcome Ancient Ireland Music to the site, where new replicas of the famous Llyn Cerrig Bach horns will be played on the mound for the very first time.

Art and archaeology talks hosted by Stone Club co-founder Matthew Shaw will include Kristoffer Hughes, Chief of the Anglesey Druid Order and project archaeologists.

Join in the colourful folklore procession; explore our current archaeology trench, and discover ancient talismans, inspired by the excavation; and watch as the site comes alive with a new ritual theatre performance by internationally acclaimed artist Clare Parry-Jones.

Dr Ffion Reynolds, Senior Heritage Events and Arts Manager at Cadw, said: “Bryn Celli Ddu is an amazing monument, and a fantastic site to promote Anglesey’s abundant archaeology and history.

“Combining a monument’s rich past with the arts with events like this help to open up the sites for more people to enjoy and bring Welsh heritage and history to life in a memorable way.”

The event is free to attend, but tickets are essential. Tickets available from the Cadw website.

For full summer events listings, visit www.gov.wales/cadw, find Cadw on Facebook or follow @cadwcymruwales on Instagram.