1. Meifod, Ffordd Bangor, Bethesda, Gwynedd LL57 3LU
2. Gwynedd Archaeological Trust, Craig Beuno, Garth Road, Bangor, Gwynedd LL57 2RT
Cite this as: Williams, J.Ll.W. and Kenney, J. 2009 Graig Lwyd (Group VII) Lithic Assemblages from the Excavations at Parc Bryn Cegin, Llandygai, Gwynedd, Wales – Analysis and Interpretation, Internet Archaeology 26. https://doi.org/10.11141/ia.26.30
This article draws attention to a unique sequence of flaked debitage at Bryn Cegin and describes the conscious exfoliation of carefully and laboriously executed ground and polished axes of Graig Lwyd source rock over a protracted time-span, covering the whole of the Neolithic period in Wales. It also draws attention to the same phenomenon being practised in other parts of Britain, establishing it as one of a number of specialised acts involving the burial of stone and flint axes. It is argued that Graig Lwyd polished axes, unflaked nuclei, and axe-making debitage were brought from the source area to Bryn Cegin, where they were systematically disaggregated and the resultant flaked assemblage buried in a series of pits. The act of disaggregation appears not to have been undertaken for any domestic/utilitarian purpose, but may be considered as an example of the ritual fragmentation of a highly valued commodity, a phenomenon that has been identified elsewhere in the Neolithic of Britain.
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