Bryn Celli Ddu: Unearthing the Sacred Heart of Neolithic Anglesey Part 2:

Welcome back to Stone Temple Gardening, where we dig deep to cultivate new understandings of the prehistoric past! 

Bryn Celli Ddu: Pic by and with kind permission of Lucia Banks

Introduction

In Part One of our journey into the sacred heart of Anglesey, we began to unpick the archaeological puzzle of the Neolithic Chambered Tomb Bryn Celli Ddu, tracing its transformation through time, from a Mesolithic ritual gathering place to one of the earliest known Neolithic henges, then a stone circle, and finally a passage tomb. Recent discoveries by Dr Mike Woods revealed an Iron Age settlement surrounding the site, coinciding with a period of documented Druidic presence in Anglesey. These layers of history underscore the enduring significance of this “Dark Mound in the Hazel Grove, where the interplay of light and shadow, the songs of drum and voice and the rituals of life and death have long performed their ancient dance. Each phase of Bryn Celli Ddu’s existence speaks of shifting beliefs, changing world views, advancing technologies and the hands that shaped wood, earth and stone in devotion to forces greater than themselves.

We walked among the physical remnants left by those long-gone supplicants to the eternal mysteries of our shared existence—the foundational burials of charred hazel wood and ear-bone sealed beneath the earth and the stone erected above etched with enigmatic carvings, The standing stones of the circle henge and later the cold earth of the chambered tomb, each mark an echo of the minds that saw the world through very different eyes. What do these symbols reveal? What hidden narratives lie within their silent language? Part One laid the groundwork, establishing what archaeology can tell us. Now, we dig deeper. 

You can read Part One here:

Hemp's Plan of BCD Showing Henge, Stone Circle and Later Tomb

In Part Two, we move beyond the layers of soil, stone and bone at Bryn Celli Ddu, stepping through the shifting veils of prehistory where ancient rites long buried beneath the weight of time still echo faintly—murmurs from the past that conjure shadowy visions of forgotten gods and elusive spirits. This was more than a burial site; it was a living monument, its significance ebbing and flowing across millennia from the Mesolithic wanderers to the Iron Age rituals of later ages. The question at hand is why this ground was chosen. What unseen celestial, topographical or spiritual forces bound human devotion to this place?

Here and in the next two sections, we will attempt to unravel more of the mysteries of Bryn Celli Ddu—not just what else remains hidden within its landscape or how the site evolved, that is for this essay. We will move on to what drew its builders to this place beneath the same sky we see today in the final two essays.

In Part Three we wil start to turn the key to unlock this site by looking at the land itself, its rivers, ridges, rocks, and mountains. Were they more than mere geography? Was it a sacred text inscribed in earth and stone, where nature and belief intertwined? Did the world speak with ethereal voices, and did those who listened commune with the spirits of their ancestors, reaching into an underworld beyond the realm of the visible?

in Part Four we go further. Was this connection between builders and the ancestors facilitated by rituals bound to the sun, moon, and the flickering interplay of firelit shadows? We will consider how this place's optical and acoustic properties may have deepened these experiences of communion.

Foundation Burial: The Burning of Hazel

Within this proposed prehistoric psycho-geographic worldview, it is easy to imagine that every rock had a voice, every type of stone held meaning, and the land itself was a vast palimpsest of connotation and denotation—its messages now silent, awaiting interpretation.

In many indigenous traditions that persist today, landscapes are imbued with memory and spirit; might the rivers of this land have also once been seen as divine?Their forces, shaping boundaries between worlds? Did voices murmur beneath the cold, weighty earth, waiting for those who knew how to listen? Was the earbone burial the bridge between worlds? Was it here, in the shifting dance of light and shadow, in the resonance of stone and silence, that the ancients sought to commune with powers beyond?

We cannot reclaim all that has been lost. But by sifting through the evidence unearthed by archaeology, we can think, imagine, and speculate—seeking echoes of an ancient cosmology engraved into the land itself.

So, let us dig deeper.

Prehistoric Anglesey from Woods, M, (2021)

The Inheritors of Time: Context

The ancient sacred landscapes of Britain and beyond that survive today are fragments of a once-vast network. Ongoing research continues to peel back the layers of what remains—what has withstood time, the plough, and centuries of human reuse. Modern boundaries—fences, agriculture, urban sprawl—have reshaped our sacred inheritance. Yet in Anglesey, much endures. Its relative lack of development, coupled with its long-standing role as the breadbasket of Wales, has preserved many traces of the past. Unlike urban sprawl, cultivation has altered the land, but it has not erased its deeper history.

Research reveals that Bryn Celli Ddu did not stand in isolation. It was part of a large web of Neolithic sanctuaries stretching across Anglesey and beyond—connecting with similar sites in Ireland, Britain, and continental Europe. In this and the following parts, we will trace the Anglesey chapter of these lost stories, seeking patterns inscribed in earth, stone, and sky. Unlike Part One, which was firmly grounded in the archaeology, this exploration moves into more speculative territory—an informed reflection on what the evidence suggests rather than what it can definitively prove. My gratitude goes again to Dr Mike Woods for his invaluable insights and rigorous research, which formed the backbone of Part One and has greatly informed the more speculative ideas presented here. His work on discovering the Iron Age settlement at Bryn Celli Ddu and thereby its possible Druidic associations is groundbreaking and invaluable. They are ongoing (watch this space). This said,

I want to emphasise that the interpretations and speculations based on the empirical research that informs this second essay are entirely my own. My goal is to explore not only the 'what' of Bryn Celli Ddu but also to delve into some of the 'why' behind it. Join me as we dig deeper into this enigmatic place, where earth, stone, sun and shadow still sing a silent song.  

Ordinance Survey Map of Bryn Celli Ddu Area.

Bryn Celli Ddu in its Landscape

When visitors approach Bryn Celli Ddu along its peaceful footpath, they often overlook the richly layered landscape that frames this Neolithic monument. While the tomb commands attention, its surroundings—fields, farms, the River Braint, scattered standing stones, decorated stone panels and an enigmatic rock outcrop to the northwest—form a greater sacred landscape that includes Neolithic pits, Bronze Age burials, ring cairns, and possibly lost stone circles. However, the reconstructed tomb rightly draws attention to itself.

Pic by Jay Pea: Creative Commons.

There are hidden sites surrounding Bryn Celli Ddu—places often missed by casual visitors, their traces faded by time’s relentless tides and the plough’s unyielding scars. Unearthed by archaeologists, these lost features illuminate a landscape of enduring sanctity, revealing how religious practices evolved across millennia at this enigmatic nexus. These lesser-known features, though weathered by time, reveal a ritual landscape far more complex than a single monument. One such discovery is the ring of Neolithic pits on the same ridge.

The Neolithic Pits at the Forecourt of the Tomb. (O’Kelly, C. 1969. Bryn Celli Ddu, Anglesey: A Reinterpretation in Archaeologia Cambrensis 118.)

The Neolithic Pits

To the south of the tomb, at the edge of the ridge, prehistoric time capsules in the form of a ring of five Neolithic pits were uncovered, each filled with deliberate layers of earth and stone bearing witness to past internment rituals (A similar pattern of layering was found in the much older foundation burial at the center of the henge containing the ear bone (see Part One).  A fragment of a key Neolithic tool and ritual object, a stone axe, was found connecting this sacred ground to broader narratives of Neolithic life, echoing the cultural heartbeat of Neolithic Anglesey and the wider of practical/ritual objects. I have written about the importance of these objects here.

Creating these pits was likely a communal effort, reinforcing social bonds through shared labor. This collective activity would have served the immediate utility or ceremonial needs but also acted as a form of social memory. Pits become historical markers, places where the community's history, identity, and significant events were etched into the landscape, ensuring that cultural narratives and traditions were passed down through generations, preserved by their presence in the landscape and below the very earth they walked upon. The burial practices here underscore the pits' importance in the social and spiritual fabric of Bryn Celli Ddu.

The Lost Large Burial Mound Nearby.

Archeologists have also discovered other lost Neolithic monuments. Ongoing research has revealed that the site of Bryn Celli Ddu is a more complex and symbolically rich environment than previously understood. There was significant activity at a large burial mound located south of the tomb, dating approximately 500 years after the construction of the Neolithic pit circle. The construction of this burial cairn would have required an enormous amount of effort, considering that some of the stones used weighed over one ton each. Further research is needed, but the ongoing use and maintenance of the burial cairn highlight the enduring significance of this landscape to prehistoric communities. Two or perhaps three more smaller Neolithic lost burial mounds are also detectable on the ridge. The progressive use of this place is again highlighted. Moving on to the Bronze Age, more evidence emerges.

3D photogrammetric model of the excavated areas of Bryn Celli Ddu Bach, showing the double ring kerb (Edwards 2019, unpublished report).

Bryn Celli Ddu Bach

Close to Bryn Celli Ddu on the same ridge lies the remains of Bryn Celli Ddu Bach, a Bronze Age ring cairn that contains remnants of ancient burials and associated rituals. It is dated to around 3,900 B.P. (Before Present). At that time the chambered tomb of Bryn Celli Ddu (itself built upon the older henge and stone circle) was 1000 years old. An excavation in 2017 conducted by Manchester Metropolitan University, the University of Central Lancashire, and CADW (the Welsh government’s historic environment service) investigated this site and also revealed further older Neolithic activity close by.

Bryn Celli Ddu Bach sits upon the same gentle ridge as Bryn Celli Ddu which runs parallel to the Afon Braint River. The ring cairn is a circular structure consisting of two concentric rings, each constructed at different times, again demonstrating the pattern of ongoing development of this location as a ritual site. Among the remains found were the bones of a child. Child burials seem to be a recurring feature of the monuments in this area from the Neolithic onwards. Bryn Celli Ddu itself contains a buried child’s ear bone and other sites in Angelsey and Wales contain similar burials. We looked briefly at this ritual pattern in Part One.

The excavations showed the cairn had been disturbed by both natural forces and earlier excavations; however significant findings were still uncovered. The stones used in the cairn are of note, they were chosen for their variety of colors and carefully arranged, perhaps to simply honor the deceased or for other symbolic purposes now lost. Bone fragments such as the ear bone were found alongside pottery, and a burial urn was also discovered that dated the site. At the heart of the cairn, a cist—a stone-built grave—was found empty, remains being either long removed or victim to acidic soils, its original contents lost over time. The presence of the cist, however, highlights the rituals surrounding death and the afterlife that took place here.

Bryn Celli Bach, with its layered history, provides a clear indication of the evolving complexity of human life and rituals of the prehistoric past.

Conclusion

The sacred landscape of Bryn Celli Ddu is far richer than the single monument that first draws the eye. What we see today is merely the visible surface of a much deeper story—one that extends far beyond the passage tomb, connecting with lost cairns, enigmatic pits, and scattered stones. This was not a place of singular purpose but a nexus of spiritual, social, and cosmic significance, occupied and reinterpreted across generations.

The presence of Neolithic pits, Bronze Age cairns, and an Iron Age settlement suggests a site that remained central to human activity for thousands of years. Whether through burial, offering, or ceremony, this landscape held a power that drew people back time and again. The interplay of river, ridge, stone, and sky created a liminal space, where the living and the dead, the seen and the unseen, could meet. Here, ancient communities shaped their world not just in practical terms but in ways that spoke to their deepest cosmological beliefs.

As research continues, new discoveries will emerge, adding further complexity to our understanding of this place. Yet even now, standing in the shadow of Bryn Celli Ddu, listening to the whisper of the wind over the stones, one cannot help but feel the weight of time pressing close. This is a landscape where past and present converge, where history is not merely studied but felt. And in that quiet communion, the voices of the past still resonate, waiting for those who are willing to listen.

In Parts Three and Four, we expand our exploration of Bryn Celli Ddu beyond the tomb itself, uncovering the wider ritual landscape that shaped its significance. We will delve into the geology of the site, the deliberate selection of rare stones in the Neolithic, and the enigmatic blue schist outcrop that may have held special meaning for its builders. We will examine the surrounding rock art, the role of the Afon Braint, and the network of standing stones that hint at a more complex ceremonial environment. Additionally, we will explore the site's connections to archeoastronomy, as well as the ritual interplay of light and sound within the monument.  We shall then discuss the documented Roman history of Iron Age Anglesey and its Druidic inhabitants, as well as the tantalizing clues of a possible Druidic legacy at Bryn Celli Ddu. Finally, I will bring together all these threads in an attempt to move closer to an answer to the fundamental question: why was the ritual landscape placed here? 

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Dr Alexander Peach, February 2025.