After saying goodbye to Gareth we headed off for our first stop at Pentre Ifan, a Neolithic burial chamber. Dated to possibly as early as 3,500 BC, this is the most impressive and best known megalithic monument in Wales. The setting gives lovely views over the countryside and down to the sea.
We then drove the short distance to another important archaeological site. Castell Henllys is the site of an Iron Age Hill Fort where the archaeologists have used experimental techniques to rebuild some of the roundhouses within the fort. When the fort was abandoned, it appears that the people deliberately destroy the stone entrance and then blocked it with stones. When the area was later farmed, it was too difficult to get farming equipment over the banks and ditches to farm the interior of the fort. Therefore it remained a very rare case of an unploughed hill fort. An entrepreneur bought the fort and the surrounding land with the idea of creating an Asterix theme park. The council were somewhat horrified by this and insisted that an archaeological survey was undertaken. This was done by a friend of a friend who was an archaeologist at York university. He discovered that the site had been wonderfully preserved and it was scheduled as an ancient monument. This bought the theme park plans to an end but gave the site a wonderful future. The redundant giant plastic dinosaur, not exactly Iron Age, remained at the site until only a few years ago.
The site was so well preserved that post holes were found and they could even identify the remains of Iron Age food such as burnt grain and animal bones in the soil. The archaeologist rebuilt one of the roundhouses in its exact position on the site. Eventually, in 1981, the site was sold to the Pembrokeshire National Park on the condition that the work on excavation and reconstruction was continued by York University. Each year they came to dig the site and work on the reconstruction and there are now five reconstructed buildings. Our very good guide quite candidly admitted that none of the buildings could be considered entirely 'correct'. The first was built with telegraph poles rather than oak logs and they didn't have the strength to support the thatch. Additional internal posts had to added latter to avoid a collapse. However, the thatch on this roof was perfect as the smoke rose from the fire inside the enclosed roof and filtered out through the thatch. There is no hole to let in the rain, the smoke preserves the wood, deterring woodworm and bugs and the smoke level at about 8 feet extinguished sparks from the fire without asphyxiating the occupants. In another few of the rafters reached the apex and this resulted in the whole structure twisting, which would eventually have resulted in collapse. The 'Chieftan's House', the largest on the site, is very well build with impressive oak rafters but the thatcher insisted on laying the thatch too thick. Still, this is what experimental archaeology is all about – learning by your mistakes and finding out what works.
They have identified the site of over 30 roundhouses , although only about 10 are thought to have been in use at any one time, so they have plenty more possible reconstructions to try. If, of course, they can get the funding!
I thoroughly recommend a visit to Castell Henllys but do ensure that you take of of the two (free) guided tours, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. If you can't do this then ask the staff lots of questions as they are both knowledgeable and helpful.
We drove on to Ogofau, the National Trust site (affiliated to the Caravan Club) at Pumsaint. It had been overcast all day but the rain started soon after our arrival and it rained all night.
Photos: Pentre Ifan – imagine a crescent moon with the arms coming towards you creating a courtyard in front of those huge entrance stones. The huge stone cairn extend all the way to the modern fence in the background.; An overview of Castell Henllys hill fort; The roundhouse with the fire showing the level of smoke held by the thatch.
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