Kistvaen

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On Lundy in 1851 a barrow, the kistvaen, was discovered by workmen and opened up.

Soon after, it was visited by a Mr Gosse who gave the following description; -

" A block of granite was found a little below the surface.......18" thick ....... estimated to weigh five tons. Its ends rested on two upright slabs, enclosing a cavity six feet wide and as many deep. A fragment of pottery was the only object found. There was a rank odour ..... very different from that of newly turned soil. The earth too at one end was black and of an unctuous ( oily) appearance."

Compare that with the description of a site near Aberystwyth which was excavated in the mid nineteenth century. -

"It contains a Kistvaen ... composed of rude slabs of stone. One of the top stones which lies near it, measures five foot nine inches by three feet nine. The cairn was opened up and the kistvaen contained some earth of a different colour to the adjoining soil."

According to tradition this latter grave was that of Taliesin, the 6th century celtic bard.

In his description of the Kistvaen on Lundy, Gosse adds - " the appearance of this chamber resembled that of the monument known as Wayland Smith's Cave' in Berkshire, which was unquestionably a monument of the early British period." Wayland's Smithy, excavated 1919-20, included a probable iron age / romanobritish burial. Wayland the Smith figures in mythology as a maker of invincible weapons.

Branwen is buried in a a four-sided grave, a kistvaen.

The residents of kistvaen graves were important , Taliesin, Wayland the Smith. Whose is the one on Lundy?

Does it relate to the early Christian gravestones found on Lundy?

Kistvaen

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