The Prehistoric Period
The uplands above Penmaenmawr are particularly rich in sites of historic interest. Except for Meini Hirion (Druid’s Circle) they are not on the grand scale but are representative of the major eras in the story of upland Britain from Neolithic times.
Open any book on the prehistory of Britain and you will find a reference to Graiglwyd. On the slopes of Mynydd Graiglwyd which overlooks the town man fashioned heavy axes from large blocks of scree and freshly quarried rock in the Neolithic Period over 5,000 years ago.
The heavy axe was in demand since this was the age of the first famers and a large sharp tool was needed to cut down trees so that land could be cleared for the growing of crops. These axes and others made on hillsides further to the west were exported all over Britain and have been found in such important sites such as Windmill Hill and Woodhenge.. Since Graiglwyd rock is so hard making axes must have been a demanding and delicate task when the only tool was another stone! This difficulty is shown by the large amount of flakes ,broken and unfinished axes, the bi-product of manufacture, found on the hill.
So much spoil was found during excavations in the 1920s that the description ’Axe Factory ’ was used since it was considered, quite wrongly, that mass production methods were practised all those years ago.
To the east of Graiglwyd is found a remarkable concentration of monuments belonging to the Bronze Age. Stone circles and burial mounds lie scattered on the open moorland suggesting a once well populated area but as yet no evidence has been found of dwellings.
The most dramatic monument here is Meini Hirion. When the site was excavated in 1958/9 two cists or stone lined hollows were found. each containing the cremated remains of a children aged about eleven.
Close by are other circles of various designs suggesting that 3,500 years ago this particular spot overlooking Conwy Bay and Anglesey with views of distant Cumbria and the Isle of Man was of some importance.It has been suggested that here was the meeting point of tracks used by smiths and merchants moving between Britain and Ireland trading in copper and bronze.
It can be presumed that this area around Graiglwyd was an important site as a place of manufacture and ceremony for over 2,000 years.
The parish name of Dwygyfylchi is now believed to be derived from the description of a two or doubled walled structure. Such a structure , a hill top defended village or fort known as Dinas Penmaen or Braich y ddinas once stood on the summit of Penmaen Mawr.
The building of the settlement began over 2,000 years ago during the early Iron Age and it became the first large nucleated settlement in our area of study. It was occupied during the Roman Period but the time and reason for its later decline and total abandonment as a settlement is not known although its destruction through quarrying in the 1920s is well recorded.
The Iron Age is also represented elsewhere in the district in the form of single and groups of round huts scattered in the upland and lowland areas. There is also another but much smaller defended hilltop site on the summit of Alltwen overlooking the Sychnant.
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