Barclodiad y Gawres

Barclodiad y Gawres (Welsh for "The Giantess's Apronful") is a Neolithic burial chamber between Rhosneigr and Aberffraw on the south-western 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. Similar graves and marks exist across the Irish Sea in the Boyne Valley.[1]

Panorama from above burial chamber in 2014

Burial chamber entrance

Full excavations were performed in 1952–53, after which the chamber was re-roofed with concrete and covered with turf to resemble the original structure. During the excavations two cremated young male burials were found within the south-western side-chamber. The central area of the main chamber contained the remains of a fire on which had been poured a stew which had been made with wrasse, eel, frog, toad, grass snake, mouse, shrew and hare, then covered with limpet shells and pebbles.[1][2]

During the excavations five stones with carvings—spirals, zig-zags, lozenges and chevrons—were discovered. A sixth stone with carvings was discovered in 2001.[3]

More or less equidistant from Aberffraw and Rhosneigr, it is on the north side of Porth Trecastell, on the Anglesey Coastal Path, and a short walk from the A4080. It is cared for by the Welsh heritage organisation Cadw.