Trefignath
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 Trefignath, cairn and tombs from the east; first tomb on left, second in middle, third on right | |
| Location | Holy Island, Wales |
|---|---|
| Region | Great Britain |
| Coordinates | 53°17′36″N 4°36′51″W / 53.2932°N 4.6143°W |
| Type | chambered tomb and stone alignment |
| Length | 23m |
| Width | 9m |
| History | |
| Material | Stone |
| Periods | Neolithic |
| Site notes | |
| Archaeologists | Christopher Smith, Frances Lynch |
| Management | Cadw |
| Public access | Yes |
| Scheduled Ancient Monument | |
Trefignath is a Neolithic burial chamber near Trearddur, south of Holyhead on Holy Island, off Anglesey in Wales. In its most complete form it included a large cairn covering three stone tombs, set on a small knoll. It was excavated between 1977 and 1979, revealing several phases of occupation with three separate burial chambers built in succession. It is a scheduled ancient monument, maintained by Cadw.
Trefignath is adjacent to an alignment of small standing stones which extends some 350 metres northwestwards. Beyond these, some 450 metres from Trefignath, is the larger Tŷ Mawr Standing Stone.
Ecological development
The site is on a small rocky knoll. It is close to a marshy area, Trefignath peat bog (mostly filled in when the railroad to Holyhead was built). Pollen preserved in the peat records the changes of vegetation since the Ice Age; the sequence begins with sub-arctic post-glacial shrubs with grasses and other herbs, through the early development of forest dominated by birch and grasses, to climax forest with oak, elm, ivy, and hazel. At this stage deciduous forest covered almost all of the land area, and this would have developed a deep, rich, and well-drained soil. Initial forest clearance is recorded by increasing carbon fragments, and the later landscape clearance by grasses and grassland weeds. Some heather pollen indicates that heath had formed on depauperized and acidified soils.[1]
Before tombs
The tomb is sited on a low ridge of rock, probably a roche moutonnée shaped by a moving ice-sheet.
Flint and chert tools, and hearths, were found on the natural ground surface under the cairn. Charcoal in this context was carbon-dated at 3100 BCE, plus or minus 70 years. Pottery sherds left before the building of the tomb were un-decorated Irish Sea ware of the early and middle Neolithic. Local clays and rocks probably provided the material for most of the pottery, but one small inclusion of perthitic biotite granite in a potsherd cannot be sourced locally and this pot may have traveled from Ireland, Scotland, or Cornwall.[2]
First chamber
The first tomb to be built was at the western end of the present mound. It had a simple, square chamber, with an entrance facing north-west, and was covered by a circular mound of stones (a cairn). It is thought that this may be the remains of a passage grave. Pollen evidence showed that it was built on an area of grassland, though there was woodland not far away and also nearby arable. There are few remaining finds, but the pottery – heavily decorated Peterborough ware pottery of late Neolithic date – suggests that the chamber continued in use for an extended period.
Second chamber
The second to be constructed was rectangular in shape and had two stones marking the entrance from a narrow forecourt. Over this, and over the earlier chamber, a long, wedge-shaped mound was constructed, which formed a long cairn. The resulting mound was edged with drystone walling.
Third chamber
The third chamber, at the eastern end, was added to the front of the central chamber. It was also constructed with large entrance stones and in the same style, but there was no longer any means of access to the central chamber. The long cairn was then extended to cover this chamber as well. Late Neolithic pottery was found at the entrance.
Alignment of standing stones
A line of small standing stones extends north-west from the burial chamber. Its alignment points, within one degree, to the winter solstice sunrise.
Tŷ Mawr standing stone
