Barclodiad y Gawres

Barclodiad y Gawres — Welsh for 'the Giantess's Apronful' — is a Neolithic passage tomb on the southwest coast of Anglesey, dating to around 3000 BC. It belongs to the rare class of decorated passage tombs akin to Newgrange in Ireland and Maeshowe in Orkney: five of its inner stones bear incised spirals, lozenges and zigzag patterns almost unique in Wales. Excavations in the 1950s uncovered a ritual stew of frog, snake and fish bones at the chamber's centre, pointing to funerary rites far more elaborate than simple interment. Perched on a clifftop above the Irish Sea, the site is a Scheduled Ancient Monument; a modern concrete dome protects the chamber, and access requires collecting a key from the nearby coastguard station.