Burry Holms (grid referenceSS403926) (Welsh:Ynys Lanwol), atidal island with the height of (98 feet (30 m)) is at the northern end ofRhossili Bay in theGower Peninsula,Wales. During spring and summer, Burry Holms is covered by flowers such asthrift andsea campion.
The island was well known withinCeltic Christianity as it was heavily associated with traditions ofSaint Cenydd, who is said to have lived on the island as a hermit and is linked to the contemporary archeological remains found there. As such, the island is certain to have had an identifiable name in bothOld Welsh andEcclesiastical Latin, likely using Cenydd as aneponym.[1] Indeed, early English records give the name as"Saint Kenyth atte Holmes", suggesting that at least one of these pre-Norse conventions was still known and recorded centuries later.[2]
"Holmes" is a common element ofEnglish place-names in Wales, ultimately deriving from theOld Norseholmr, which denotes "a small and rounded islet". The island appears as"Holmes" and"Holmes en Gower", in the Calendar of Patent rolls entries for the 1440s, where it is listed as a "chapel or hermitage".[3] Variations on the Norse/English name continued into the modern era, with the island simply named asHolmes Island on early tithe maps (listed as a "Rectorial Glebe" of the parish ofLlangennith).[4] TheModern Welsh name,Ynys Lanwol ("tidal island") is thought to have only come into common usage in recent history, with the modern English name,Burry Holms another recent appellation with the word Burry likely referring to the island's archaeological remains.
9,000 years ago, the sea was up to 12 miles (19 km) away. Inhabited bynomadicMesolithichunters,flinttools provide the first evidence of their existence.Charcoal-charredhazelnut tools made out ofwood andbone were found in 1919. A 1998excavation by theNational Museums and Galleries of Wales found that Burry Holms was used as a Mesolithic seasonal camp.Iron Age people subsequently built a 5-acre (20,000 m2)hillfort andditch on the island, while inMedieval times it was home to amonastery. The island is popular among collectors ofshells.
51°36′34″N4°18′28″W / 51.60952°N 4.30773°W /51.60952; -4.30773
