Prehistoric Wales
Encyclopedia
Prehistoric Wales in terms of human settlements covers the period from about 230,000 years ago, the date attributed to the earliest human remains found in what is now Wales
, to the year 48 AD when the Roman army
began a military campaign against one of the Welsh tribes. Traditionally, historians have believed that successive waves of immigrants brought different cultures into the area, largely replacing the previous inhabitants, with the last wave of immigrants being the Celt
s. However, studies of population genetics now suggest that this may not be true, and that immigration was on a smaller scale.
upper jaw fragment containing two teeth, whose owner probably lived during an interglacial period in the Lower Palaeolithic, was found in a cave in the River Elwy
valley, at the Bontnewydd Paleaolithic site, near St Asaph
, Denbighshire
. Excavations of the site in between 1978 and 1995 revealed a further 17 teeth belonging to five individuals, a total of seven hand axes and some animal bones, some of which show signs of butchery. This site is the most north-westerly in Eurasia
at which the remains of early hominids have been found, and is considered to be of international importance. Late Neanderthal hand axe
s were also found at Coygan Cave, Carmarthenshire
and have been dated to between 60,000 and 35,000 years old.
The Paviland limestone
caves of the Gower Peninsula
in south Wales
are by far the richest source of Aurignacian
material in Britain, including burin
s and scrapers dated to about 28,500 years ago. The first remains of modern humans, Homo sapiens sapiens to be found in Wales was the famous Red Lady of Paviland
. This was a human skeleton dyed in red ochre discovered in 1823 in one of the Paviland caves. Despite the name, the skeleton is actually that of a young man who lived about 29,000 years ago at the end of the Upper Paleolithic
Period (old stone age
). He is considered to be the oldest known ceremonial burial in Western Europe
. The skeleton was found along with fragments of small cylyndrical ivory
rods, fragments of ivory bracelet
s and seashell
s.
Settlement in Wales was apparently intermittent as periods of cooling and warming led to the ice sheets advancing and retreating. Wales appears to have been abandoned from about 21,000 years ago until after 13,000 years ago, with a burial found at Kendrick's Cave
on the Great Orme
dating to about 12,000 years ago.
, Wales became roughly the shape it is today by about 7000 BC and was inhabited by Mesolithic
hunter-gatherers. Wales has many sites where Mesolithic material has been found, but securely stratified material is rare. The earliest dated Mesolithic site in Wales is Nab Head, Pembrokeshire
, around 9,200 years ago. Many of the sites from this period are coastal, although 9,000 years ago they would have been some distance inland from the sea. There is a particular concentration in Pembrokeshire
, but there are also a good number of upland sites, most apparently seasonal hunting locations, for example around Llyn Brenig
. Some decorated pebbles found at Rhuddlan
represent the earliest art found in Wales.
An investigation of post holes at the late Neolithic - Early Bronze Age chambered tomb of Bryn Celli Ddu
on Anglesey
, published in 2006, gave a radiocarbon dating which placed two of the holes in the Mesolithic period.
The earliest farming communities are now believed to date from about 4000 BC, marking the beginning of the Neolithic
period. Pollen evidence indicates the clearing of forests on an increasing scale during this period. The Neolithic saw the construction of many chambered tombs, the most notable including Bryn Celli Ddu and Barclodiad y Gawres
on Anglesey. Three main types of megalithic tomb are found in Wales, the Severn-Cotswold
type in the south-east, the Portal dolmen type and the Passage grave
s which are characteristic of the Irish Sea
area and the Atlantic façade of Europe and Morocco. Megalithic tombs are most common in the western lowlands. There is evidence of close cultural links with Ireland
, particularly in the Early Neolithic period.
A number of houses from the Neolithic period have also been found in Wales, most notably the settlement at Clegyr Boia near St David's
in Pembrokeshire. Many artefacts have also been found, particularly polished stone axeheads. There were a number of "factories" in Wales producing these axeheads, the largest being the Graig Lwyd factory at Penmaenmawr
on the north coast which exported its products as far afield as Yorkshire
and the English midlands. Pottery finds also indicate a relationship with Ireland.
Metal tools first appeared in Wales about 2500 BC, initially copper
followed by bronze
. The climate during the Early Bronze Age
(c. 2100-1400 BC) is thought to have been warmer than at present, as there are many remains from this period in what are now bleak uplands. Much of the copper
for the production of bronze probably came from the copper mine on the Great Orme
, where prehistoric mining on a very large scale dates largely from the middle Bronze Age. In particular copper from the Great Orme mines appears to have been used for the production of bronze implements of the Acton Park Complex, named after a hoard found at Acton Park near Wrexham
. These tools, particularly axeheads, were developed towards the end of the Early Bronze Age and are innovative in both metallurgy
and design. They were widely exported, with examples being found along the continental coast from Brittanny to north Germany
.
Burial practices in the Bronze Age differed from the communal tombs of the Neolithic period, with a change to burial in round barrow
s and the provision of grave goods. Inhumation was soon replaced by cremation and in Wales the cemetery mound with a number of burials had become the standard form by about 2000 BC. One of the most striking finds from Bronze Age Wales was the gold cape
found in a tomb at Bryn yr Ellyllion, Mold, Flintshire
dated to 1900-1600 BC, weighing 560 g and produced from a single gold ingot. Very few weapons have been found in Early Bronze Age graves in Wales compared with other objects, and the lack of traces of earlier Bronze Age settlements is thought to indicate that farms or hamlets were undefended.
From about 1250 BC there was a deterioration in the climate which became more marked from about 1000 BC, with higher rainfall and much lower summer temperatures. This led to an increase in peat formation and probably the abandonment of many upland settlements. It has been suggested that this led to conflict and to changes in social organization, with the earliest hillforts appearing about 800 BC.
The Late Bronze Age saw the development of more advanced bronze implements, with weapons becoming increasingly common. While the weapons reflect introduced styles, there are pronounced regional variations in the styles of tools, particularly axes. On the basis of tool types, Wales can be divided into four regions, the south-east, south-west, north-west and north-east. Interestingly these regions show an approximate correspondence to the territories of the tribes later recorded in these areas by the Romans, the Silures
, Demetae
, Ordovices
and Deceangli
respectively.
The earliest iron implements found in Wales come from Llyn Fawr
at the head of the Rhondda Valley
, where objects apparently deposited as votive offerings include three made of iron: a sword, a spearhead and a sickle. These items are thought to date to about 650 BC, and while the sword appears to be imported the sickle is an imitation of a native bronze prototype. The Iron Age
saw the building of hillforts which are particularly numerous in Wales, examples being Pen Dinas
near Aberystwyth
and Tre'r Ceiri on the Llŷn Peninsula
. The earliest distinctively Iron Age settlement in Wales is considered to be Castell Odo, a small hillfort near the tip of the Llŷn Peninsula, dated to about 400 BC. The largest hillforts are most numerous along the eastern border of Wales, with some large examples also found in the lowlands of north-west Wales. In the south-west, by contrast, hillforts are very numerous but mainly small, with an area of under 1.2 hectares.
A particularly significant find from this period was made in 1943 at Llyn Cerrig Bach
on Anglesey, when the ground was being prepared for the construction of a Royal Air Force
base. The cache included weapons, shields, chariot
s along with their fittings and harnesses, and slave chains and tools. Many had been deliberately broken and seem to have been votive offering
s. These finds are considered to be one of the most important collections of La Tène
metalwork discovered in Britain. Pottery on the other hand is fairly rare in Wales during this period and most of what has been found appears to be imported.
The La Tène culture is traditionally associated with the Celt
s, and the general view until fairly recently was that the appearance of this culture indicated a large-scale invasion by peoples who also brought a Celtic language which later developed into Welsh
. The currently more popular view is that any movement of peoples was on a smaller scale, with cultural diffusion responsible for most of the changes. There is some evidence to support the latter model, such as burials associated with earlier religious sites. It has been suggested that a Celtic language was being spoken in Wales by about 700 BC.
The prehistoric period ended with the arrival of the Roman army
, who began their campaigns against the Welsh tribes in 48 AD with an attack on the Deceangli
in north-east Wales. Wales was divided between a number of tribes, of which the Silures
and the Ordovices
put up the most stubborn resistance. The Roman
conquest of Wales was complete by 79 AD. The reports of Roman historians such as Tacitus
give a little more information about Wales in this period, such as that the island of Anglesey
was apparently a stronghold of the Druid
s. The impact of the arrival of the Romans may have varied from one part of Wales to another; for example there is evidence that some hillforts, such as Tre'r Ceiri, continued to be occupied during the Roman period.
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
, to the year 48 AD when the Roman army
Roman army
The Roman army is the generic term for the terrestrial armed forces deployed by the kingdom of Rome , the Roman Republic , the Roman Empire and its successor, the Byzantine empire...
began a military campaign against one of the Welsh tribes. Traditionally, historians have believed that successive waves of immigrants brought different cultures into the area, largely replacing the previous inhabitants, with the last wave of immigrants being the Celt
Celt
The Celts were a diverse group of tribal societies in Iron Age and Roman-era Europe who spoke Celtic languages.The earliest archaeological culture commonly accepted as Celtic, or rather Proto-Celtic, was the central European Hallstatt culture , named for the rich grave finds in Hallstatt, Austria....
s. However, studies of population genetics now suggest that this may not be true, and that immigration was on a smaller scale.
Palaeolithic
The earliest known human remains discovered in modern-day Wales date from 230,000 years ago. An early NeanderthalNeanderthal
The Neanderthal is an extinct member of the Homo genus known from Pleistocene specimens found in Europe and parts of western and central Asia...
upper jaw fragment containing two teeth, whose owner probably lived during an interglacial period in the Lower Palaeolithic, was found in a cave in the River Elwy
River Elwy
The River Elwy is a river in North Wales and is a tributary of the River Clwyd. The source of the river is sometimes said to be on the northern flank of Moel Seisiog, south-east of Llanrwst, at Ordnance Survey grid reference SH853593...
valley, at the Bontnewydd Paleaolithic site, near St Asaph
St Asaph
St Asaph is a town and community on the River Elwy in Denbighshire, Wales. In the 2001 Census it had a population of 3,491.The town of St Asaph is surrounded by countryside and views of the Vale of Clwyd. It is situated close to a number of busy coastal towns such as Rhyl, Prestatyn, Abergele,...
, Denbighshire
Denbighshire
Denbighshire is a county in north-east Wales. It is named after the historic county of Denbighshire, but has substantially different borders. Denbighshire has the distinction of being the oldest inhabited part of Wales. Pontnewydd Palaeolithic site has remains of Neanderthals from 225,000 years...
. Excavations of the site in between 1978 and 1995 revealed a further 17 teeth belonging to five individuals, a total of seven hand axes and some animal bones, some of which show signs of butchery. This site is the most north-westerly in Eurasia
Eurasia
Eurasia is a continent or supercontinent comprising the traditional continents of Europe and Asia ; covering about 52,990,000 km2 or about 10.6% of the Earth's surface located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres...
at which the remains of early hominids have been found, and is considered to be of international importance. Late Neanderthal hand axe
Hand axe
A hand axe is a bifacial Stone tool typical of the lower and middle Palaeolithic , and is the longest-used tool of human history.-Distribution:...
s were also found at Coygan Cave, Carmarthenshire
Carmarthenshire
Carmarthenshire is a unitary authority in the south west of Wales and one of thirteen historic counties. It is the 3rd largest in Wales. Its three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford...
and have been dated to between 60,000 and 35,000 years old.
The Paviland limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
caves of the Gower Peninsula
Gower Peninsula
Gower or the Gower Peninsula is a peninsula in south Wales, jutting from the coast into the Bristol Channel, and administratively part of the City and County of Swansea. Locally it is known as "Gower"...
in south Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
are by far the richest source of Aurignacian
Aurignacian
The Aurignacian culture is an archaeological culture of the Upper Palaeolithic, located in Europe and southwest Asia. It lasted broadly within the period from ca. 45,000 to 35,000 years ago in terms of conventional radiocarbon dating, or between ca. 47,000 and 41,000 years ago in terms of the most...
material in Britain, including burin
Burin
Burin from the French burin meaning "cold chisel" has two specialised meanings for types of tools in English, one meaning a steel cutting tool which is the essential tool of engraving, and the other, in archaeology, meaning a special type of lithic flake with a chisel-like edge which was probably...
s and scrapers dated to about 28,500 years ago. The first remains of modern humans, Homo sapiens sapiens to be found in Wales was the famous Red Lady of Paviland
Red Lady of Paviland
The Red Lady of Paviland is a fairly complete Upper Paleolithic-era human male skeleton dyed in red ochre. It was the first human fossil to have been found anywhere in the world and is also the oldest ceremonial burial anywhere in Western Europe so far discovered. The bones were discovered between...
. This was a human skeleton dyed in red ochre discovered in 1823 in one of the Paviland caves. Despite the name, the skeleton is actually that of a young man who lived about 29,000 years ago at the end of the Upper Paleolithic
Paleolithic
The Paleolithic Age, Era or Period, is a prehistoric period of human history distinguished by the development of the most primitive stone tools discovered , and covers roughly 99% of human technological prehistory...
Period (old stone age
Stone Age
The Stone Age is a broad prehistoric period, lasting about 2.5 million years , during which humans and their predecessor species in the genus Homo, as well as the earlier partly contemporary genera Australopithecus and Paranthropus, widely used exclusively stone as their hard material in the...
). He is considered to be the oldest known ceremonial burial in Western Europe
Western Europe
Western Europe is a loose term for the collection of countries in the western most region of the European continents, though this definition is context-dependent and carries cultural and political connotations. One definition describes Western Europe as a geographic entity—the region lying in the...
. The skeleton was found along with fragments of small cylyndrical ivory
Ivory
Ivory is a term for dentine, which constitutes the bulk of the teeth and tusks of animals, when used as a material for art or manufacturing. Ivory has been important since ancient times for making a range of items, from ivory carvings to false teeth, fans, dominoes, joint tubes, piano keys and...
rods, fragments of ivory bracelet
Bracelet
A bracelet is an article of jewelry which is worn around the wrist. Bracelets can be manufactured from metal, leather, cloth, plastic or other materials and sometimes contain jewels, rocks, wood, and/or shells...
s and seashell
Seashell
A seashell or sea shell, also known simply as a shell, is a hard, protective outer layer created by an animal that lives in the sea. The shell is part of the body of the animal. Empty seashells are often found washed up on beaches by beachcombers...
s.
Settlement in Wales was apparently intermittent as periods of cooling and warming led to the ice sheets advancing and retreating. Wales appears to have been abandoned from about 21,000 years ago until after 13,000 years ago, with a burial found at Kendrick's Cave
Kendrick's Cave
Kendrick's Cave on the Great Orme, Llandudno, Wales, was the site of important archaeological finds by Thomas Kendrick in 1880. The site is a small natural cavern on the south of the Great Orme Head, a limestone massif on the seaward side of Llandudno .Kendrick, a lapidary, was clearing a cave in...
on the Great Orme
Great Orme
The Great Orme is a prominent limestone headland on the north coast of Wales situated in Llandudno. It is referred to as Cyngreawdr Fynydd in a poem by the 12th century poet Gwalchmai ap Meilyr...
dating to about 12,000 years ago.
Mesolithic
Following the last Ice ageIce age
An ice age or, more precisely, glacial age, is a generic geological period of long-term reduction in the temperature of the Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers...
, Wales became roughly the shape it is today by about 7000 BC and was inhabited by Mesolithic
Mesolithic
The Mesolithic is an archaeological concept used to refer to certain groups of archaeological cultures defined as falling between the Paleolithic and the Neolithic....
hunter-gatherers. Wales has many sites where Mesolithic material has been found, but securely stratified material is rare. The earliest dated Mesolithic site in Wales is Nab Head, Pembrokeshire
Pembrokeshire
Pembrokeshire is a county in the south west of Wales. It borders Carmarthenshire to the east and Ceredigion to the north east. The county town is Haverfordwest where Pembrokeshire County Council is headquartered....
, around 9,200 years ago. Many of the sites from this period are coastal, although 9,000 years ago they would have been some distance inland from the sea. There is a particular concentration in Pembrokeshire
Pembrokeshire
Pembrokeshire is a county in the south west of Wales. It borders Carmarthenshire to the east and Ceredigion to the north east. The county town is Haverfordwest where Pembrokeshire County Council is headquartered....
, but there are also a good number of upland sites, most apparently seasonal hunting locations, for example around Llyn Brenig
Llyn Brenig
Llyn Brenig is a reservoir located in North Wales, in the heart of the Denbigh Moors, on the border between the counties of Conwy and Denbighshire...
. Some decorated pebbles found at Rhuddlan
Rhuddlan
Rhuddlan is a town and community in the county of Denbighshire , in north Wales. It is situated to the south of the coastal town of Rhyl and overlooks the River Clwyd. The town gave its name to the Welsh district of Rhuddlan from 1974 to 1996...
represent the earliest art found in Wales.
An investigation of post holes at the late Neolithic - Early Bronze Age chambered tomb of Bryn Celli Ddu
Bryn Celli Ddu
Bryn Celli Ddu is a prehistoric site on the Welsh island of Anglesey located near Llanddaniel Fab. Its name means 'the mound in the dark grove'. It was plundered in 1699 and archaeologically excavated between 1928 and 1929....
on Anglesey
Anglesey
Anglesey , also known by its Welsh name Ynys Môn , is an island and, as Isle of Anglesey, a county off the north west coast of Wales...
, published in 2006, gave a radiocarbon dating which placed two of the holes in the Mesolithic period.
Neolithic
Neolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
period. Pollen evidence indicates the clearing of forests on an increasing scale during this period. The Neolithic saw the construction of many chambered tombs, the most notable including Bryn Celli Ddu and Barclodiad y Gawres
Barclodiad y Gawres
Barclodiad y Gawres is a Neolithic burial chamber on the coast of the island of Anglesey in North Wales. It is an example of a cruciform passage grave, a notable feature being its decorated stones...
on Anglesey. Three main types of megalithic tomb are found in Wales, the Severn-Cotswold
Severn-Cotswold tomb
Severn-Cotswold is a name given to a type of Megalithic chamber tomb built by Neolithic peoples in Wales and South West England around 3500 BC.-Description:...
type in the south-east, the Portal dolmen type and the Passage grave
Passage grave
thumb|250px|right|A simple passage tomb in [[Carrowmore]] near [[Sligo]] in IrelandA passage grave or passage tomb consists of a narrow passage made of large stones and one or multiple burial chambers covered in earth or stone. Megaliths are usually used in the construction of passage tombs, which...
s which are characteristic of the Irish Sea
Irish Sea
The Irish Sea separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is connected to the Celtic Sea in the south by St George's Channel, and to the Atlantic Ocean in the north by the North Channel. Anglesey is the largest island within the Irish Sea, followed by the Isle of Man...
area and the Atlantic façade of Europe and Morocco. Megalithic tombs are most common in the western lowlands. There is evidence of close cultural links with Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, particularly in the Early Neolithic period.
A number of houses from the Neolithic period have also been found in Wales, most notably the settlement at Clegyr Boia near St David's
St David's
St Davids , is a city and community in Pembrokeshire, Wales. Lying on the River Alun on St David's Peninsula, it is Britain's smallest city in terms of both size and population, the final resting place of Saint David, the country's patron saint, and the de facto ecclesiastical capital of...
in Pembrokeshire. Many artefacts have also been found, particularly polished stone axeheads. There were a number of "factories" in Wales producing these axeheads, the largest being the Graig Lwyd factory at Penmaenmawr
Penmaenmawr
PenmaenmawrConwyPenmaenmawr is a town in the parish of Dwygyfylchi, in Conwy County Borough, Wales. The population was 3857 in 2001. It is a quarrying town, though the latter is no longer a major employer, on the North Wales coast between Conwy and Llanfairfechan.The town was bypassed by the A55...
on the north coast which exported its products as far afield as Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
and the English midlands. Pottery finds also indicate a relationship with Ireland.
The Bronze Age
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
followed by bronze
Bronze
Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...
. The climate during the Early Bronze Age
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
(c. 2100-1400 BC) is thought to have been warmer than at present, as there are many remains from this period in what are now bleak uplands. Much of the copper
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
for the production of bronze probably came from the copper mine on the Great Orme
Great Orme
The Great Orme is a prominent limestone headland on the north coast of Wales situated in Llandudno. It is referred to as Cyngreawdr Fynydd in a poem by the 12th century poet Gwalchmai ap Meilyr...
, where prehistoric mining on a very large scale dates largely from the middle Bronze Age. In particular copper from the Great Orme mines appears to have been used for the production of bronze implements of the Acton Park Complex, named after a hoard found at Acton Park near Wrexham
Wrexham
Wrexham is a town in Wales. It is the administrative centre of the wider Wrexham County Borough, and the largest town in North Wales, located in the east of the region. It is situated between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley close to the border with Cheshire, England...
. These tools, particularly axeheads, were developed towards the end of the Early Bronze Age and are innovative in both metallurgy
Metallurgy
Metallurgy is a domain of materials science that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their intermetallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are called alloys. It is also the technology of metals: the way in which science is applied to their practical use...
and design. They were widely exported, with examples being found along the continental coast from Brittanny to north Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
Round barrow
Round barrows are one of the most common types of archaeological monuments. Although concentrated in Europe they are found in many parts of the world because of their simple construction and universal purpose....
s and the provision of grave goods. Inhumation was soon replaced by cremation and in Wales the cemetery mound with a number of burials had become the standard form by about 2000 BC. One of the most striking finds from Bronze Age Wales was the gold cape
Mold cape
The Mold Cape is a solid sheet-gold object dating from about 1900-1600 BC in the European Bronze Age. It was found at Mold in Flintshire, Wales, in 1833.The cape is thought to have formed part of a ceremonial dress, perhaps with religious connections...
found in a tomb at Bryn yr Ellyllion, Mold, Flintshire
Mold, Flintshire
Mold is a town in Flintshire, North Wales, on the River Alyn. It is the administrative seat of Flintshire County Council, and was also the county town of Clwyd from 1974 to 1996...
dated to 1900-1600 BC, weighing 560 g and produced from a single gold ingot. Very few weapons have been found in Early Bronze Age graves in Wales compared with other objects, and the lack of traces of earlier Bronze Age settlements is thought to indicate that farms or hamlets were undefended.
From about 1250 BC there was a deterioration in the climate which became more marked from about 1000 BC, with higher rainfall and much lower summer temperatures. This led to an increase in peat formation and probably the abandonment of many upland settlements. It has been suggested that this led to conflict and to changes in social organization, with the earliest hillforts appearing about 800 BC.
The Late Bronze Age saw the development of more advanced bronze implements, with weapons becoming increasingly common. While the weapons reflect introduced styles, there are pronounced regional variations in the styles of tools, particularly axes. On the basis of tool types, Wales can be divided into four regions, the south-east, south-west, north-west and north-east. Interestingly these regions show an approximate correspondence to the territories of the tribes later recorded in these areas by the Romans, the Silures
Silures
The Silures were a powerful and warlike tribe of ancient Britain, occupying approximately the counties of Monmouthshire, Breconshire and Glamorganshire of present day South Wales; and possibly Gloucestershire and Herefordshire of present day England...
, Demetae
Demetae
The Demetae were a Celtic people of Iron Age Britain who inhabited modern Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire in south-west Wales, and gave their name to the county of Dyfed.-Classical mention:...
, Ordovices
Ordovices
The Ordovices were one of the Celtic tribes living in Great Britain, before the Roman invasion of Britain. Its tribal lands were located in present day Wales and England between the Silures to the south and the Deceangli to the north-east...
and Deceangli
Deceangli
The Deceangli or Deceangi were one of the Celtic tribes living in Britain, prior to the Roman invasion of the island. The tribe lived mainly in what is now north-east Wales, though it is uncertain whether their territory covered only the modern counties of Flintshire, Denbighshire and part of...
respectively.
The Iron Age
Llyn Fawr
Llyn Fawr is a lake in the Cynon Valley , South Wales, best known as the site of an important hoard of weapons and tools from the late Bronze Age and early Iron Age...
at the head of the Rhondda Valley
River Rhondda
The River Rhondda is a river in the Rhondda Valley, South Wales which has two major tributaries; the Rhondda Fawr and the Rhondda Fach .- Description :...
, where objects apparently deposited as votive offerings include three made of iron: a sword, a spearhead and a sickle. These items are thought to date to about 650 BC, and while the sword appears to be imported the sickle is an imitation of a native bronze prototype. The Iron Age
British Iron Age
The British Iron Age is a conventional name used in the archaeology of Great Britain, referring to the prehistoric and protohistoric phases of the Iron-Age culture of the main island and the smaller islands, typically excluding prehistoric Ireland, and which had an independent Iron Age culture of...
saw the building of hillforts which are particularly numerous in Wales, examples being Pen Dinas
Pen Dinas
Pen Dinas is the name of a hill south of Aberystwyth on the coast of Ceredigion, Wales, upon which an extensive Iron Age hill fort is situated....
near Aberystwyth
Aberystwyth
Aberystwyth is a historic market town, administrative centre and holiday resort within Ceredigion, Wales. Often colloquially known as Aber, it is located at the confluence of the rivers Ystwyth and Rheidol....
and Tre'r Ceiri on the Llŷn Peninsula
Llŷn Peninsula
The Llŷn Peninsula extends into the Irish Sea from north west Wales, south west of the Isle of Anglesey. It is part of the modern county and historic region of Gwynedd. The name is thought to be of Irish origin, and to have the same root Laigin in Irish as the word Leinster...
. The earliest distinctively Iron Age settlement in Wales is considered to be Castell Odo, a small hillfort near the tip of the Llŷn Peninsula, dated to about 400 BC. The largest hillforts are most numerous along the eastern border of Wales, with some large examples also found in the lowlands of north-west Wales. In the south-west, by contrast, hillforts are very numerous but mainly small, with an area of under 1.2 hectares.
A particularly significant find from this period was made in 1943 at Llyn Cerrig Bach
Llyn Cerrig Bach
Llyn Cerrig Bach is a small lake in the north-west of the island of Anglesey, Wales. Its main claim to fame is the large hoard of Iron Age materials discovered there in 1942, apparently placed in the lake as votive offerings...
on Anglesey, when the ground was being prepared for the construction of a Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
base. The cache included weapons, shields, chariot
Chariot
The chariot is a type of horse carriage used in both peace and war as the chief vehicle of many ancient peoples. Ox carts, proto-chariots, were built by the Proto-Indo-Europeans and also built in Mesopotamia as early as 3000 BC. The original horse chariot was a fast, light, open, two wheeled...
s along with their fittings and harnesses, and slave chains and tools. Many had been deliberately broken and seem to have been votive offering
Votive offering
A votive deposit or votive offering is one or more objects displayed or deposited, without the intention of recovery or use, in a sacred place for broadly religious purposes. Such items are a feature of modern and ancient societies and are generally made in order to gain favor with supernatural...
s. These finds are considered to be one of the most important collections of La Tène
La Tène culture
The La Tène culture was a European Iron Age culture named after the archaeological site of La Tène on the north side of Lake Neuchâtel in Switzerland, where a rich cache of artifacts was discovered by Hansli Kopp in 1857....
metalwork discovered in Britain. Pottery on the other hand is fairly rare in Wales during this period and most of what has been found appears to be imported.
The La Tène culture is traditionally associated with the Celt
Celt
The Celts were a diverse group of tribal societies in Iron Age and Roman-era Europe who spoke Celtic languages.The earliest archaeological culture commonly accepted as Celtic, or rather Proto-Celtic, was the central European Hallstatt culture , named for the rich grave finds in Hallstatt, Austria....
s, and the general view until fairly recently was that the appearance of this culture indicated a large-scale invasion by peoples who also brought a Celtic language which later developed into Welsh
Welsh language
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
. The currently more popular view is that any movement of peoples was on a smaller scale, with cultural diffusion responsible for most of the changes. There is some evidence to support the latter model, such as burials associated with earlier religious sites. It has been suggested that a Celtic language was being spoken in Wales by about 700 BC.
The prehistoric period ended with the arrival of the Roman army
Roman army
The Roman army is the generic term for the terrestrial armed forces deployed by the kingdom of Rome , the Roman Republic , the Roman Empire and its successor, the Byzantine empire...
, who began their campaigns against the Welsh tribes in 48 AD with an attack on the Deceangli
Deceangli
The Deceangli or Deceangi were one of the Celtic tribes living in Britain, prior to the Roman invasion of the island. The tribe lived mainly in what is now north-east Wales, though it is uncertain whether their territory covered only the modern counties of Flintshire, Denbighshire and part of...
in north-east Wales. Wales was divided between a number of tribes, of which the Silures
Silures
The Silures were a powerful and warlike tribe of ancient Britain, occupying approximately the counties of Monmouthshire, Breconshire and Glamorganshire of present day South Wales; and possibly Gloucestershire and Herefordshire of present day England...
and the Ordovices
Ordovices
The Ordovices were one of the Celtic tribes living in Great Britain, before the Roman invasion of Britain. Its tribal lands were located in present day Wales and England between the Silures to the south and the Deceangli to the north-east...
put up the most stubborn resistance. The Roman
Roman Wales
The history of Wales in the Roman era began in AD 48 with a military invasion by the imperial governor of Roman Britain. The conquest would be completed by 78, and Roman rule would endure until the region was abandoned in 383 AD...
conquest of Wales was complete by 79 AD. The reports of Roman historians such as Tacitus
Tacitus
Publius Cornelius Tacitus was a senator and a historian of the Roman Empire. The surviving portions of his two major works—the Annals and the Histories—examine the reigns of the Roman Emperors Tiberius, Claudius, Nero and those who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors...
give a little more information about Wales in this period, such as that the island of Anglesey
Anglesey
Anglesey , also known by its Welsh name Ynys Môn , is an island and, as Isle of Anglesey, a county off the north west coast of Wales...
was apparently a stronghold of the Druid
Druid
A druid was a member of the priestly class in Britain, Ireland, and Gaul, and possibly other parts of Celtic western Europe, during the Iron Age....
s. The impact of the arrival of the Romans may have varied from one part of Wales to another; for example there is evidence that some hillforts, such as Tre'r Ceiri, continued to be occupied during the Roman period.
See also
- Early history of IrelandEarly history of IrelandThe early medieval history of Ireland, often called Early Christian Ireland, spans the 5th to 8th centuries, from the gradual emergence out of the protohistoric period to the beginning of the Viking Age...
- Prehistoric BritainPrehistoric BritainFor the purposes of this article, Prehistoric Britain is that period of time between the first arrival of humans on the land mass now known as Great Britain and the start of recorded British history...
- Prehistoric ScotlandPrehistoric ScotlandArchaeology and geology continue to reveal the secrets of prehistoric Scotland, uncovering a complex and dramatic past before the Romans brought Scotland into the scope of recorded history...
- Prehistoric Wales
External links
- Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales
- Artifacts from Pontnewydd Cave held on Gathering the Jewels
- Artifacts from Coygan Cave held on Gathering the Jewels
- Artifacts from Paviland Cave held on Gathering the Jewels
- Mesolithic stone beads from Nabs Head, Pembrokeshire, held on Gathering the Jewels
- Mesolithic fins from Rhuddlan held on Gathering the Jewels
- Pentre Ifan Cromlech/Dolmen in Pembrokeshire, Wales
- Carreg Coetan Arthur Cromlech/Dolmen in Pembrokeshire, Wales