Holy Island is a small island just off the west coast of Anglesey, North Wales, which is rich in archaeology of all periods. Between 2006 and 2010, archaeological excavations in advance of a major Welsh Government development site, Parc Cybi, enabled extensive study of the island’s past. Over 20 hectares were investigated, revealing a busy and complex archaeological landscape, which could be seen evolving from the Mesolithic period through to the present day. Major sites discovered include an Early Neolithic timber hall aligned on an adjacent chambered tomb and an Iron Age settlement, the development of which is traced by extensive dating and Bayesian analysis. A Bronze Age ceremonial complex, along with the Neolithic tomb, defined the cultural landscape for subsequent periods. A long cist cemetery of a type common on Anglesey proved, uncommonly, to be late Roman in date, while elusive Early Medieval settlement was indicated by corn dryers. This wealth of new information has revolutionised our understanding of how people have lived in, and transformed, the landscape of Holy Island. Many of the sites are also significant in a broader Welsh context and inform the understanding of similar sites across Britain and Ireland.

• Front Cover
• Half-Title Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• List of figures
• List of tables
• Summary
• Crynodeb
• 1. Introduction
  • Introduction
  • Project background
  • Report guide
  • Archive
  • Acknowledgements
• 2. A landscape through time
  • Introduction
  • Topography and geology
  • Late Glacial and Mesolithic Period
    • Climate and human history
    • Mesolithic on Anglesey
    • Mesolithic Parc Cybi
  • Neolithic period
    • The origins of farming in Britain
    • The Neolithic in Anglesey
    • The primary structures at Parc Cybi
    • Temporary Neolithic occupation
    • Evidence of cultivation
  • Beaker period and Early Bronze Age
    • The Beaker People and the Early Bronze Age in Britain
    • Anglesey and Holy Island
    • The Beaker period and Early Bronze Age at Parc Cybi
  • Later Bronze Age and Early Iron Age
    • The later Bronze Age in Anglesey
    • The later Bronze Age at Parc Cybi
  • Iron Age
    • Iron Age Britain and Wales
    • Iron Age Parc Cybi
  • Roman period
    • Roman Holy Island
  • Early Medieval period
    • Early Medieval Holy Island
  • Medieval and post-medieval periods
• 3. Mesolithic Period
  • The valley mire
  • Mesolithic activity
• 4. Neolithic period – houses, halls and huts
  • Introduction
  • Trefignath chambered tomb
  • The timber hall (PRN 31570)
    • Description
    • Finds from the Neolithic building
    • Radiocarbon dating the Early Neolithic building
    • Interpretation
  • Early Neolithic temporary settlement (PRN 18406 and 31571)
    • Description
    • Finds and dates from the Early Neolithic temporary settlement (PRN 18406)
    • Interpretation
  • Middle and Late Neolithic settlement: pit clusters, huts and homes
    • Introduction
    • Pit cluster PRN 31572
    • Pit cluster PRN 31573
    • Hearth and pits PRN 31574
    • Pits PRN 74831 and 74832
    • Structure PRN 74830
    • Burnt mound (PRN 31583)
    • Middle and Late Neolithic pottery
    • Radiocarbon dates
    • Interpretation of the pit phenomenon
• 5. Beaker period and earlier Bronze Age – ceremony and settlement
  • Introduction
  • Beaker period
    • Beaker activity in hollow PRN 18406
    • Burnt mound (PRN 31582)
  • Possible earlier Bronze Age settlement evidence
    • Pit 20081
    • Other earlier Bronze Age activity
  • Bronze Age ceremonial complex
    • Summary
    • Cist cemetery (PRN 31589)
    • D-shaped enclosure (PRN 31591)
    • Ring-ditch (PRN 31590)
    • The Tŷ Mawr standing stone (PRN 2501)
    • Discussion
• 6. Later Bronze Age and Iron Age – settlement and politics
  • Possible later Bronze Age settlement
    • Introduction
    • Timber roundhouse (PRN 31588)
    • Other settlement evidence
    • Later Bronze Age pottery
  • Late Bronze Age/Early Iron Age marsh-edge activity
    • The valley mire
    • Late Bronze Age/Early Iron Age stone platform
    • Amber bead fragment and gold ring
    • Interpretation
  • The Middle Iron Age roundhouse settlement (PRN 14599)
    • Overview
    • Phase 1
    • Phase 2
    • Phase 3
    • Finds from the roundhouse settlement
    • Dates for the roundhouse settlement
    • Discussion
  • Other Middle Iron Age settlement
    • Clay-walled roundhouses (PRN 31595)
    • Temporary occupation (PRN 31598)
  • Late Iron Age settlement
    • A hut and pits (PRN 31592 and PRN 31593)
    • A possible Late Iron Age farmstead (PRN 31577 and 31579)
    • The potential of another roundhouse settlement (PRN 14602)
  • Iron Age fields
  • Iron Age settlement on Anglesey
• 7. Roman and Early Medieval periods – industry, burial and corn dryers
  • 3rd/4th-century AD farmstead (PRN 31596)
    • Stone building (Structure 80526)
    • Clay-walled building (Structure 80527)
    • Pits and postholes
    • Trackway
    • Finds and dating
    • Interpretation
  • Trackway and field system (PRN 31597)
  • Long cist cemetery (PRN 31600)
    • Finds from the graves
    • Metalworking within the cemetery
    • Interpretation and date
  • Early Medieval corn dryers
    • Charcoal and charred plant remains
    • Dates
    • Discussion
• 8. Medieval and post-medieval periods – a farming landscape
  • Introduction
  • Farmsteads
    • Tyddyn Pioden (PRN 18403)
    • Pen y Lôn (PRN 14588)
    • Bonc Dêg (PRN 13928)
    • Trefignath Farm
    • Merddyn Poeth (PRN 36509)
  • The field system
    • Small ditched enclosures: peat stack and hayricks
• 9. Conclusion
• Appendix I: Radiocarbon dates from Parc Cybi
• Appendix II: Project background and methodology
• Bibliography