A fantastic Bronze Age burial ground in Denbighshire has had a makeover in the form of new interpretation materials for visitors.
The Llyn Brenig Archaeological Trail covers the site of a Bronze Age cemetery, high up in the hills of Hiraethog.
Thousands of years ago, people used the area to bury and remember their dead, and they left dramatic monuments behind which have survived to this day. In the 1970s, before the dam was constructed and the valley flooded, an archaeological excavation was carried out on over 20 sites.
This provided lots of information, and as the sites were reconstructed after the digging, the monuments are clearly visible today.
Denbighshire County Council’s Countryside Service has been working with Dwr Cymru Welsh Water to redevelop the interpretation of the site.
County Archaeologist, Fiona Gale said: “Before this project, the interpretation of the site was very dated, and much of it had disappeared through wear and tear since the 1970s. Now we have new interpretation panels, an audio trail, and two new leaflets, including one aimed at children.
“We also have a website with extra information and teaching resources for school. The really exciting thing about this project is that we were able to record Frances Lynch, who was heavily involved in the excavations in the 1970s. We met Frances on the Trail, where she gave us all sorts of information about the sites, which can now be easily heard by everyone.”
The Trail is around 4 km long, and takes about 2 hours to complete. The audio trail needs to be downloaded from the website – www.brenigarchaeology.co.uk before reaching the site, as there is only very patchy mobile phone signal there.
This project has received funding through Denbighshire County Council, the Countryside Council for Wales, Cadw, Dwr Cymru Welsh Water and the Rural Development Plan for Wales 2007-2013 which is funded by the Welsh Assembly Government and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development.
A guided tour of the Trail is being held on Sunday 18th September as part of the Hiraethog Show at Llyn Brenig.
Countyside Officer, Ros Stockdale said: “We will be catching the 11.30 Brenig Bus from the Visitors Centre, or meeting at the start of the Trail at 11.45. We’d love as many people as possible to try out the new resources, so this is a great opportunity to come and explore a new area”.
For further information, please contact Ros Stockdale on 01978 869615.
