Llyn Cerrig Bach is an area of marshland that was once the site of a natural lake, situated on the west coast of Anglesey. It is also the site of the largest iron age hoard discovered to date in Wales. Llyn Cerrig Bach is important not only because of the craftsmanship of the artefacts found in its hoard but because of its significance as a ritual Celtic site.
The Iron Age Hoard at Llyn Cerrig Bach
Workers discovered the hoard in 1942 during the construction of an RAF airfield on the site of the former lake. After the site was drained, numerous animal bones were found in the peat — along with 150 bronze and iron objects.
The metalwork in the hoard shows off the skill of Celtic artisans and the intricacy of Celtic art. Items were all high status and included:
- Weapons, including iron swords, fragments of shields, spears
- Fragments of Chariots and horse gear
- Two iron slave chains
- Tools such as sickles
- Currency bars
- A trumpet
- Cauldrons
- Decorative bronzes, e.g. most notable a crescent plaque decorated with a bird motif.
The objects originated from different locations. Some originated in the southwest of Britain, particularly Somerset. Others items came from the southeast — even from Ireland. These objects dated between the second century BC and the mid-first century AD. The deposits seem to have ceased around the time of the Roman invasion of Britain.
The hoard is on display in the National Museum of Wales.
The Ritual Significance of Llyn Cerrig Bach
Many archaeologists believe Llyn Cerrig Bach was a site of ritual significance to the Celts. It would have been a dramatic spot in the late Iron Age; a natural lake surrounded by rocky landscape, with a cliff overlooking the lake itself — a perfect viewing spot and place to make ritual deposits.
The Roman writer Tacitus described Anglesey, then known as Mona, as a druidic centre of Britain. Islands were significant to the Celts. Celtic mythology links islands with the otherworld. In the first century BC, the Classical geographer Strabo described a Celtic “holy island” peopled by priestesses off the River Seine. Bodies of water as places of ritual depositions are also known from across Celtic Europe.
The Llyn Cerrig Bach hoard has features that suggest the objects were offerings to the gods. Each functional item was deliberately rendered useless. Swords were bent and equipment and vehicles dismantled so they could never again be put to earthly use. This made them fitting gifts to the gods — a practice noted at other European prehistoric and Celtic ritual sites. The bones added to the hoard could have been the results of additional animal sacrifices.
The exact significance of the area as a ritual site is debatable. Some archaeologists feel that because many of the hoard items came from various locations, the area was of national rather than just local ritual significance. However, this idea cannot be established with any certainty as the hoard could equally have represented a sacrifice to the local gods of highly prized “imported” items.
Some experts have also speculated that the hoard represents a specific sacrifice, with many archaeologists linking it to the druid’s last stand against the Roman army on Mona. So was the Llyn Cerrig Bach hoard actually an emergency offering to the gods?
Resources
The Religious Symbolism of Llyn Cerrig Bach and Other Early Sacred Water Sites by Dr Miranda Green
Lloyd Laing (1984) Celtic Britain Paladin: Granada Publishing
