Barclodiad y Gawres Chambered Tomb

Health & Safety Alert

Please be aware that due to coastal erosion, the area around the monument needs extra care when using the lower coastal path. The path leading to the monument is currently safe and unaffected. Cadw are closely monitoring the site and if you have any concerns please check our latest advice and research on climate change and Cadw’s historic environment team’s latest publication – Historic Environment and Climate Change in Wales – Sector Adaptation Plan.

Please contact us to raise any concerns you may have about the monument: email: cadw@gov.wales

Overview

An atmospheric tomb with rare examples of prehistoric art

Barclodiad y Gawres (‘The Giantess’s Apronful’ in English) gives a revealing – and surprising – glimpse into the lives of our ancient ancestors. Perched in a spectacular cliffside location, the 90ft/27m earthen mound is a modern reconstruction, but beneath lies a 23ft/7m passageway leading to a cross-shaped chamber that houses the tomb’s most exciting treasures.

Among a series of stones are five etched with intricate patterns of zig-zags and spirals, which hint at the site’s significance for Anglesey’s early inhabitants. While similar carvings have been found at Neolithic (New Stone Age) sites in Ireland, the only other tomb in the UK with examples of such megalithic art is a few miles away at Bryn Celli Ddu.