Neolithic burial chambers in Wales, dating from 4,000 to 2,000 BCE, are a significant focus of early human culture and beliefs in this region. With around 250 examples remaining, they represent only a fraction of the original sites.
Professor George Nash’s book, The Neolithic Tombs of Wales, examines the shift from hunter-gatherer societies to farming communities, highlighting the profound changes in burial practices and the establishment of more permanent settlements and rituals over the 2,000-year Neolithic period.
His fully revised second edition provides an up-to-date account of the Neolithic period in Wales, through a detailed exploration of its chambered tombs and monuments. The author identifies that at least 250 such sites were in use in Wales over a 2,000-year period from 4000 to 2000 BCE. Following recent site analysis, this book presents the latest knowledge and understanding of monument construction, burial practices and rites during this period.
Describing over 100 Neolithic burial-ritual sites throughout Wales that have significant remains, this book divides the country into eight areas and examines the various regional architectural styles used to venerate and house their dead. The author describes the five different styles of chambered tombs – Portal Dolmens, the Cotswold-Severn Tradition, Passage Graves, Gallery Graves and Earth-Fast monuments – and why these different styles developed in the way and locations they did.
Richly illustrated with photographs, drawings and maps, this important and thought-provoking book provides startling insights and greater understanding of these enigmatic and spiritual sites.
DNA evidence suggests that the earliest monuments, such as portal dolmens were reserved for society’s elite however, over time, larger communal tombs emerged, reflecting a shift toward burying extended family groups or community members.
“One striking example is the Parc le Breos Cwm burial chamber on the Gower Peninsula,” said Nash.
“Situated in a secluded valley, this trapezoidal monument contains five chambers that housed the remains of approximately 40 individuals, categorized by age, sex and even species – including dogs.”
Prof Nash concluded:
“These enigmatic stone monuments represent a window into a past where no written accounts are available, and evidence is often reduced to a few stones, scattered pottery shards, and fragmentary human remains but from this limited assemblage, archaeologists can say a lot”.
Dr George Nash is an Associate Professor at the University of Coimbra, Portugal, and an Honorary Researcher within the department of archaeology, classics and Egyptology, University of Liverpool. Dr Nash has directed excavations at many Neolithic burial-ritual monuments and is the author of numerous books on the Neolithic and prehistoric and contemporary rock art.
The book can be bought direct from the publisher here: Neolithic Tombs of Wales NEW EDITION – Logaston Press
