Bryn Celli Ddu

Bryn Celli Ddu continues to fascinate archaeologists and linguists.

It is a large mound containing a passage grave, but it is two monuments, one built upon the other, suggesting a change of beliefs during the Neolithic period. The first monument was a henge, a central stone circle, rarely found in Wales. The second monument, a chamber, cairn, a passage grave, completely covering the first, and was probably one of the last megalithic tombs to be built on Anglesey.

Bryn Celli Ddu has many unusual features – including a stone decorated with spirals and patterns behind the chamber of the tomb. This is housed at the National Museum of Wales in Cardiff, and a replica stands at Bryn Celli.

As for the name – there is disagreement. Commonly translated as “the mound in the dark grove”, there is a school of thought that the translation suggests homage to a deity. Bryn Celli continues to fascinate, with one theory suggesting that it was created as an observatory!