Funding awarded to uncover secrets of prehistoric Welsh ritual site

Nation.Cymru staff

A newly uncovered Bronze Age ritual landscape in north Wales will be excavated and shared with the public after an archaeological group was granted funding.

Clwydian Range Archaeology Group (CRAG) were awarded the grant by The National Lottery Heritage Fund to tell the story of the recently discovered prehistoric site at Bryneglwys, Denbighshire

The group’s project, Hanes Mewn Harddwch (History in Beauty), will investigate, record, and tell the story of the site’s 4000-year history.

CRAG was founded as community archaeology group in 2011 by local volunteers who had participated in the 2004-10 Heather and Hillforts project led by the Denbighshire county archaeologist Fiona Gale.

CRAG’s first project on the slopes of Moel Arthur uncovered a Bronze Age settlement site with an unusual mix of domestic and ritual features, for which they won a Marsh Community Archeology Award in 2017-18.

Then, in 2020, CRAG was invited by a farmer to an intriguing scatter of stones in one of his fields. Excavation revealed it to be a previously unrecorded 4000-year-old Early Bronze Age ring cairn with an assemblage of cremation deposits and artefacts.

Surveys of the surrounding fields indicate that the ring cairn is accompanied by other prehistoric monuments.

Dr Gary Robinson of Heritage and Archaeology at Bangor University said: “The site offers insights into continuity and change in ritual practices across several millennia that are vital for understanding ritual landscapes in Northeast Wales and contribute significantly to broader prehistoric narratives of Wales and the United Kingdom”.    

The Heritage Fund grant will support excavation of the ritual complex, the second in north-east Wales to be fully investigated after that at Brenig in Denbighshire.            

Hanes Mewn Harddwch will incorporate the excavation results into exhibitions and publications for local communities, visitors to the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley (CRDV) National Landscape, archaeologists, schools, and members of the public interested in archaeology.

The project will contribute to telling the story of how prehistoric communities viewed and shaped their environments, linking cultural and natural heritage, and raising awareness of the need to understand and protect both.  

Andrew White, Director for Wales, The National Lottery Heritage Fund, said: “Hanes Mewn Harddwch is uncovering and sharing a remarkable part of Wales’s prehistoric past, deepening our understanding of how communities have shaped and connected with their landscapes over thousands of years.

“Thanks to National Lottery players, this project will bring people together to explore and celebrate Wales’s hidden heritage.”

CRAG chairperson, Karen Lowery, added: “Diolch yn fawr iawn to the landowner, our supporters, and National Lottery players and the Heritage Fund, for making it possible to explore and tell the exciting story of the Hanes Mewn Harddwch prehistoric ritual site.”

The project is being implemented by CRAG’s volunteer members in collaboration with a network of partners, with opportunities to participate in archaeological activities from practical fieldwork, mounting exhibitions, and working with young people.

Volunteers do not require any previous experience and will be trained and supervised by professional archaeologist Dr. Ian Brooks of EAS Ltd.

The CRDV National Landscape, Llangollen Museum, and other local museums, libraries and community centres will host exhibitions and meetings. Young people will be engaged through local schools and the recently founded Clwyd and Dee Valley Young Archaeologists’ Club.     

One of the main aims of the project is to demonstrate that, with professional guidance and the support of partners, community volunteer groups can make significant contributions to archaeological research and saving heritage.

Dr Toby Driver of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales (RCAHMW) said: “The Royal Commission believes Hanes Mewn Harddwch to be one of the more significant community archaeology projects currently underway in Wales.

“It has been impressed by the quality of work undertaken to date and the new phase funded by the Heritage Fund will add considerable national value to the site.”   

CRAG added that The Heritage Fund award for Hanes Mewn Harddwch will broaden and deepen CRAG’s collective skills and experience, increase its capacity to undertake future projects, and encourage other groups to adopt similar models. 

For updates on Hanes Mewn Harddwch, and details of its opportunities for volunteers, follow @CRAGNorth Wales on Facebook or email [email protected].