The Modern Antiquarian. Stone Circles, Ancient Sites, Neolithic Monuments, Ancient Monuments, Prehistoric Sites, Megalithic MysteriesThe Modern Antiquarian

Fieldnotes by Prashant

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Bryn Celli Ddu (Chambered Cairn)

Family favorite... lost count of the number of times I have visited here, sneaking off from Bangor Uni or taking people here for picnics. I've even seen it from the air once, on a pleasure flight from Caernarfon air port. It's a perfect circle. What can be said?

The high light on 18/01/01 was meeting two old guys from Porthmadoc, who were both pretty clued up on the place, (and other sites in Snowdonia).

There has been a good car park built since I was last here (used to park on the verge) and a proper footpath. The farmer must have got pissed off with Pagans walking across his land at midnight on the solstices.

I always come away from here with a reasurance of our survial as a race, that we are still here, and that the Ancient ones are just with us all along the way. And I'm glad that there are folk out there who lovingly tend sites like this, be they archaeologists or visionaries (or both).

Barclodiad-y-Gawres (Chambered Cairn)

Ah ha! We wonder if you managed to unlock the door to this one, Julian...from your entry in the Gazeteer, me thinketh perhaps not. Journeying from the Rhosneiger direction, along the A4080, from A5, just before the x-roads for Aberfraw/Rhosneiger, there is a little general stores on your left, Wayside Stores....ask for the key...(£5. deposit>>>)continue journey along coast, half mile or so, the site is preceeded by an ample car park, with the little bay on your right, walk along the well trod foot path, you will see the dome of the chamber ahead of you. Unlock iron gates...and enter.....
a dark womb of mysteries...lit well enough from the day light coming in, although, as we discovered to our delight, a torch can reveal more wonders...the "Giantess" (Gawres) with her pregnant belly holds up one end of the cap stone ( the belly is not apparent, run your hand gently down the back of the stone to find it.....) which stone? go see....there are faint spiral and chevron markings on about 5 stones, like drawings on a misted window pane, visable almost only to the minds eye, without a torch (luckily we had brought one with us. it was my 3rd visit to the chamber and I'd not seen them before, being too awestruck with the pregnant belly on previous visits) Sit for a while at the back of the chamber and watch the sea spray the rocks of the nearby beach and listen to the cry of the lapwings.

Ty Newydd a bit average, perhaps better had it been left to the elements. A fun scramble to sit on its cap stone and watch the clouds and rabbits...(well, ok, only Mort saw the rabbits...these Tylwydd Teg are so sharp)

Hey, by the way, I was at Barclodiad y Gawres on 12th March 1994, just missed bumping into you by less than a week.

You and your family are most welcome to come stay with us next time you visit Snowdonia. We live down near Porthmadoc and would love to show you some other sacred sites...
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