Prehistoric Wales in terms of human settlements covers the period from about 230,000 years ago, the date attributed to the earliest human remains found in what is nowWales, to the year AD 48 when theRoman army began a military campaign against one of the Welsh tribes. Traditionally, historians have believed that successive waves of immigrants brought different cultures into the area, largely replacing the previous inhabitants, with the last wave of immigrants being theCelts. However, studies of population genetics now suggest that this may not be true, and that immigration was on a smaller scale.
The earliest known human remains discovered in modern-day Wales date from 230,000 years ago. An earlyNeanderthal upper jaw fragment containing two teeth, whose owner probably lived during aninterglacial period in theLower Palaeolithic, was found in a cave in theRiver Elwy valley, at theBontnewydd Palaeolithic site, nearSt Asaph (Welsh:Llanelwy),Denbighshire.[1][2] Excavations of the site between 1978 and 1995 revealed a further 17 teeth belonging to five individuals, a total of seven hand axes and some animal bones, some of which show signs of butchery.[3] This site is the most north-westerly inEurasia at which the remains of earlyhominids have been found, and is considered to be of international importance. Late Neanderthalhand axes were also found atCoygan Cave,Carmarthenshire and have been dated to between 60,000 and 35,000 years old.[4][5]
ThePavilandlimestone caves of theGower Peninsula in southWales are by far the richest source ofAurignacian material in Britain, includingburins and scrapers dated to about 28,500 years ago.[6] The first remains of modern humans,Homo sapiens sapiens, to be found in Wales was the famousRed Lady of Paviland, discovered in the 1820s. This was a human skeleton dyed inred ochre discovered in 1823 in one of the Paviland caves inGower.[7] Despite the name, the skeleton is actually that of a young man who lived about 33,000-34,000 years ago,[8] coincident with a warmer period at the end of theUpper Paleolithic Period (OldStone Age).[9] He is considered to be the oldest known ceremonial burial inWestern Europe.[10] The skeleton was found along with fragments of small cylindricalivory rods, fragments of ivorybracelets andseashells.[11] Some will call this finding the "Goat's Hole".[12]
Settlement in Wales was apparently intermittent, as periods of cooling and warming led to the ice sheets advancing and retreating. Wales appears to have been abandoned from about 21,000 years ago until after 13,000 years ago, with a burial found atKendrick's Cave on theGreat Orme dating to about 12,000 years ago.[13]
Following thelast ice age, Wales became roughly the shape it is today by about 7000 BC and was inhabited byMesolithichunter-gatherers. Wales has many sites where Mesolithic material has been found, but securely stratified material is rare.[14] The earliest dated Mesolithic site in Wales is Nab Head,Pembrokeshire, around 9,200 years ago.[15][16] Many of the sites from this period are coastal, although 9,000 years ago they would have been some distance inland from the sea. There is a particular concentration inPembrokeshire, but there are also a good number of upland sites, most apparently seasonal hunting locations, for example aroundLlyn Brenig.[17] There is evidence of arrows and the use of simplistic tools in theLlŷn Peninsula.[18][19] Some decorated pebbles found atRhuddlan represent the earliest art found in Wales.[20]
Anglesey's permanent settlement has a history beginningc. 9,000 years ago during theMesolithic (European) period at theAberffraw bay,Trwyn Du (Welsh:Black nose) excavated site. Millennia later, around 2,000 BC was when a Bronze Age kerb cairn (bowl barrow) was built covering the original Trwyn Du artifact deposit of 7,000 thousand Mesolithicflinttools and 2axes.[21][22]
The earliest farming communities are now believed to date from about 4000 BC, marking the beginning of theNeolithic period. Pollen evidence indicates the clearing of forests on an increasing scale during this period. The Neolithic saw the construction of manychambered tombs, the most notable including Bryn Celli Ddu andBarclodiad y Gawres on Anglesey.[23] Also on the isle is one of the earliest settlements in Wales (potentially Wales' first village). The woodenlong houses nearLlanfaethlu is the remains of aNeolithic village dated to 4,000 BC. Flint tools were also found at the site.[24]
Three main types of megalithic tomb are found in Wales, theSevern-Cotswold type in the south-east, thePortal dolmen type and thePassage graves which are characteristic of theIrish Sea area and the Atlantic façade ofEurope andMorocco. Megalithic tombs are most common in the western lowlands.[25] There is evidence of close cultural links withIreland, particularly in the Early Neolithic period.[26]
A number of houses from the Neolithic period have also been found in Wales, most notably the settlement atClegyr Boia nearSt David's in Pembrokeshire. Many artefacts have also been found, particularly polished stone axeheads. There were a number of "factories" in Wales producing these axeheads, the largest being the Graig Lwyd factory atPenmaenmawr on the north coast which exported its products as far afield asYorkshire and the English midlands.[27][28][29] Pottery finds also indicate a relationship with Ireland.
![Bryn Celli Ddu, a late Neolithic chambered tomb on Anglesey.[30]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aBrynCelliDdu3.jpg)
![Siambr gladdu Oes y Cerrig, dolmen, c. 3000 BC.[31]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aSiambr_gladdu_Oes_y_Cerrig_-_Neolithic_burial_chamber_from_c._3%2c000_CC%2c_Dyffryn_Conwy%2c_Wales_03.jpg)
![The Maesmor mace-head, c. 3000-2500 BC.[32]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aNMW_-_Keulenkopf.jpg)
Metal tools first appeared in Wales about 2500 BC with theBell Beaker culture, initiallycopper followed bybronze. The climate during theEarly Bronze Age (c. 2100-1400 BC) is thought to have been warmer than at present, as there are many remains from this period in what are now bleak uplands. Much of thecopper for the production of bronze probably came from the copper mine on theGreat Orme, where prehistoric mining on a very large scale dates largely from the middle Bronze Age.[33] In particular copper from the Great Orme mines appears to have been used for the production of bronze implements of the Acton Park Complex, named after a hoard found atActon Park nearWrexham. These tools, particularly axeheads, were developed towards the end of the Early Bronze Age and are innovative in bothmetallurgy and design. They were widely exported, with examples being found along the continental coast fromBrittany to northGermany.[34]
Burial practices in the Bronze Age differed from the communal tombs of the Neolithic period, with a change to burial inround barrows and the provision of grave goods. Inhumation was soon replaced by cremation and in Wales the cemetery mound with a number of burials had become the standard form by about 2000 BC.[35] One of the most striking finds from Bronze Age Wales was thegold cape found in a tomb at Bryn yr Ellyllion,Mold, Flintshire dated to 1900-1600 BC, weighing 560 g and produced from a single gold ingot. Very few weapons have been found in Early Bronze Age graves in Wales compared with other objects, and the lack of traces of earlier Bronze Age settlements is thought to indicate that farms or hamlets were undefended.[36]
From about 1250 BC, there was a deterioration in the climate, which became more marked from about 1000 BC, with higher rainfall and much lower summer temperatures. This led to an increase in peat formation and probably the abandonment of many upland settlements.[37] It has been suggested that this led to conflict and to changes in social organization, with the earliest hillforts appearing about 800 BC.[38]
The Late Bronze Age saw the development of more advanced bronze implements, with weapons becoming increasingly common.[39] While the weapons reflect introduced styles, there are pronounced regional variations in the styles of tools, particularly axes. On the basis of tool types, Wales can be divided into four regions, These were, theOrdovices (Mid toNorth Wales & Anglesey), theDeceangli (North East Wales), theDemetae (South West Wales), and theSilures (South East Wales). These regions show an approximate correspondence to the territories of the tribes later recorded in these areas by the Romans.[40]
![Gold Banc Ty'nddôl sun-disc. Bell Beaker culture, 2450-2150 BCE.[41][42]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aDisc1.png)
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The earliest iron implements found in Wales come fromLlyn Fawr at the head of theRhondda Valley, where objects apparently deposited asvotive offerings include three made of iron: a sword, a spearhead and a sickle. These items are thought to date to about 650 BC, and while the sword appears to be imported, the sickle is an imitation of a native bronze prototype.[43]
Over 600 hillfort were built in Wales and throughout the British Isles fromc. 800 BC.[21] TheIron Age saw the building ofhillforts which are particularly numerous in Wales, includingPen Dinas nearAberystwyth andTre'r Ceiri on theLlŷn Peninsula. The earliest distinctively Iron Age settlement in Wales is considered to beCastell Odo (modern-dayAberdaron), a small hillfort on the tip of the Llŷn Peninsula, the fort dates to about 400 BC but was actually settled during the late Bronze Age. The largest hillforts are most numerous along the eastern border of Wales, with some large examples also found in the lowlands of north-west Wales. In the south-west, by contrast, hillforts are very numerous but mainly small, with an area of under 1.2 hectares.[44][45] An example on Anglesey isArthur's Table (Welsh:Bwrdd Arthur / Din Sylwy) hillfort, it's an Iron Age settlement that was inhabited for a millennium until after theRoman period (c. 4 AD).[46][47][48]
Some Celtic tribes originated inGermany and migrated throughoutWestern Europe, also toBritain andIreland. These western EuropeanIron Age tribes in Britain were established in the late Iron Age between c. 500 BC - 200 BC. Later in theIron Age, stoneroundhouses were being built fromc. 500 BC (earliest).Hut circles were found throughout Wales and Celtic Europe. These stone-built roundhouses were occupied for nearly a thousand years and were used until the end of the Roman occupation ofGreat Britain during the 5th century. A well-preserved hut circle on Anglesey isDin Lligwy, the smallvillage was dated from the Iron Age to Roman occupation. Ahoard ofRoman era pottery andcoins were discovered in the 1905-07archaeological excavation of Din Lligwy.[50][49][51]
A particularly significant find from this period was made in 1943 atLlyn Cerrig Bach on Anglesey, when the ground was being prepared for the construction of aRoyal Air Force base. The cache included weapons, shields,chariots along with their fittings and harnesses, and slave chains and tools. Many had been deliberately broken and seem to have beenvotive offerings.[52] These finds are considered to be one of the most important collections ofLa Tène metalwork discovered in Britain. Pottery on the other hand is fairly rare in Wales during this period and most of what has been found appears to be imported.[53]In 2018, the first-ever Celtic chariot burial found in southern Britain was discovered inLlanstadwell — associated with other burials and amultivallate fort. It has been dated to the second half of the first century AD[54][55]
The La Tène culture is traditionally associated with theCelts, and the general view until fairly recently was that the appearance of this culture indicated a large-scale invasion by peoples who also brought a Celtic language which later developed intoWelsh.[56] The currently more popular view is that any movement of peoples was on a smaller scale, with cultural diffusion responsible for most of the changes. There is some evidence to support the latter model, such as burials associated with earlier religious sites.[57] It has been suggested that a Celtic language was being spoken in Wales by about 700 BC.
The prehistoric period ended with the arrival of theRoman army, who began their campaigns against the Welsh tribes in 48 AD with an attack on theDeceangli in north-east Wales, the era was deemed theRoman Iron Age. Wales was divided between a number of tribes, of which theSilures and theOrdovices put up the most stubborn resistance. TheRoman conquest of Wales was complete by 79 AD. The reports of Roman historians such asTacitus give a little more information about Wales in this period, such as that the island ofAnglesey was apparently a stronghold of theDruids. The impact of the arrival of the Romans may have varied from one part of Wales to another; for example there is evidence that some hillforts, such as Tre'r Ceiri, continued to be occupied during the Roman period. An example of that era is the Welsh pre-Celtic (Goidelic)Silures tribe, who occupied their lands from the ancient times of Britain. The tribe later established a home in theMalvern Hills buildingearthworks to protect themselves fromOstorius Scapula and hisRoman army. However, later in 78 AD, the Silures tribe was defeated by the Romans led byFrontinus from his nearby camp at the Roman fort ofAriconium which was then inhabited for 300 more years.[58][59][60][61]
![Capel Garmon Firedog, from Conwy.[62]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aCapel_Garmon_Firedog.jpg)
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![Bronze bowls and wine strainer with triskele design from Langstone, Newport.[63]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aLangstone_bronze_bowls_and_wine_strainer.jpg)
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![The Penbryn Spoons from Castell Nadolig, possibly used for divination.[64]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aIron_Age_Spoons_from_Penbryn_on_display_in_the_Ashmolean_Museum.jpg)
![Reconstruction of an Iron Age chariot.[65]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aNachgebauter_keltischer_Streitwagen.png)
![Remains of dry-stone fortifications at Tre'r Ceiri hillfort, Gwynedd[59]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aInside_the_Celtic_Iron_Age_hillfort_of_Tre%2527r_Ceiri%2c_Gwynedd_Wales%2c_with_its_150_houses%3b_finest_in_Europe_61.jpg)
![Tre'r Ceiri hillfort, artist's reconstruction[59]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aTre%2527r_Ceiri_hillfort%2c_Wales.jpg)
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