New book explores most significant neolithic tombs in Wales

A long-awaited revised book will offer an up-to-date account of the Neolithic period in Wales through a detailed exploration of its chambered tombs and monuments.

Neolithic Tombs of Wales will be published on November 21 21 November and author Dr George Nash has a sold-out talk at the Hay Winter Festival on Saturday 30 November.

The most conspicuous legacy of the Neolithic period (c.4,000–2,000 bce) are the enigmatic tombs and monuments that mark the landscape, many characterised by their use of colossal stones – megaliths.

In Wales, more than 250 Neolithic burial-ritual sites endure, and this new revised edition explores 100 sites for which significant remains can be seen.

It also discusses the five types of chambered tomb known from the time of our early farming ancestors.

Archaeology

Author, Dr Nash is an Associate Professor at the University of Coimbra, Portugal, and an Honorary Researcher within the department of archaeology, classics and Egyptology, University of Liverpool.

He has directed excavations at many Neolithic burial-ritual monuments and is the author of numerous books on the Neolithic and prehistoric and contemporary rock art.

Burial

Dr Nash, said: ‘This book is about the ritual and symbolic act of burial of the dead by our Neolithic ancestors.

“The evidence in Wales and in other Neolithic core areas of Western Britain for this can be seen through a series of monuments that are generically referred to as ‘stone burial chambered tombs’.

“Despite their heritage value, it is clear that the original meaning of these monuments is often not fully understood.

“By revealing the way these tombs were constructed, and using modern archaeological techniques to explore how they were used, this book aims to conjure an evocative picture of their purpose during this distant time.”