 |
 |
Humungous 191K | ||
| Large 103K | ||||
|
Low angle illumination. |
Diffuse illumination. |
|||
Stone 7
|
|
|
Humungous 191K | ||
| Large 103K | ||||
|
Low angle illumination. |
Diffuse illumination. |
|||
The rock art at Barclodiad y Gawres was
documented during the 1952-3 excavation by Powell and Daniel
(1) and later by Lynch
(2) and Beckensall (3),
but during our visit in 2001 we were surprised to spot rock art that all of
these experts had missed. The new art is not trivial, it is an extensive chevron
and lozenge motif that covers a large section of the SE face of stone 7 and is
in keeping with the “irish” style of art found on the other stones of the
chamber. We took the above photos of this new rock art, and these images have
been accessible on this website since 2002.
In 2004, unaware of our previous discovery, a group of students from the
University of Bristol led by Dr George Nash also noticed this rock art, and
carried out detailed examination and tracing of the design, this work has
received widespread press coverage and was also featured in the BBC 4 radio
series on rock art “The Drawings on the Wall”. Interpretation of the motif is
continuing, but it now seems likely that it is the result of at least two phases
of carving.
(1)
Powell T.G.E. & Daniel G.E., Barclodiad y Gawres: The Excavation of a Megalithic
Tomb in Anglesey, 1956, Oxford University Press.
(2) Lynch F., Prehistoric Anglesey, 1970,
Anglesey Antiquarian Society, p70-9.
(3) Beckensall S., British Prehistoric Rock
Art, 1999, Tempus Publishing, Gloucester, p132-4.