Cefn Bryn Gwyr Abertawe Cefn Bryn is a
Cefn Bryn, Gwyr, Abertawe. Cefn Bryn is a long ridge that runs along the Gower coast in Swansea, South Wales. It is 5 miles long, and made from a type of stone called sandstone. Sandstone is a soft rock made from grains of sand that are squashed together over millions of years. Where do you think the sand could’ve come from? Photo courtesy of Colin Smith (@wikimedia. com) - granted under creative commons licence – attribution
Cefn Bryn is sometimes called ‘The Backbone of the Gower!’ Although it is made of sandstone, it is covered with grass. You can see sheep, cattle and ponies grazing on the grass all year round. The area is very important because it is home to some very rare animals, such as: • the marsh fritillary butterfly; • the skylark; • the brown hare.
Cefn Bryn is a steep slope which runs from the edge of the coast down towards the villages nearby. The top of Cefn Bryn is 190 m high! Cefn Bryn has been an important area for thousands of years. Artefacts from the stone age have been found there. This means that stone age people lived in Cefn Bryn over 11, 000 years ago! Photo courtesy of Matthew Hatton (@wikimedia. com) - granted under creative commons licence – attribution
Maen Ceti This is Maen Ceti. It is at the top of Cefn Bryn. What do you think it is? Photo courtesy of Nick Earl (@wikimedia. com) - granted under creative commons licence – attribution
Maen Ceti – The Facts It is a neolithic burial chamber which has also been called the most magical stone in Wales. It is over 6, 000 years old! The large rock on the top weighs 25 tons – That’s the same as an orca whale! The stone measures 4 m x 2 m. The stone used to be bigger. But in 1690 a piece weighing 10 tons broke off! You can still see it lying on the floor next to the monument. The stone was once one of the most famous landmarks in Britain. People thought it was as impressive as Stonehenge.
Maen Ceti What is a neolithic burial chamber? • A neolithic burial chamber is the place where stone age people used to bury their dead. It is like a stone age graveyard. • The large stone on the top marks the spot where the burial chamber is and acts like a monument for it.
Maen Ceti How did it get there? People have wondered for hundreds of years how the stones at Maen Ceti got there. There are many different opinions…. Photo courtesy of Robin Leicester (@wikimedia. com) - granted under creative commons licence – attribution
King Arthur There are many myths and legends about the stone. One legend says that the stone got its name from King Arthur. One day, King Arthur was walking in Carmarthenshire, when he found a rock in his shoe. He took it out and threw it. The rock flew all the way from Carmarthenshire, straight over the Burry Estuary, to Cefn Bryn. Because the stone had been touched by King Arthur, the stone grew with pride and all the stones in Cefn Bryn raised it up high with admiration. Legend has it that on a night with a full moon, you can see King Arthur emerging from under the rock, wearing a suit of armour, walking down to the villages below.
What Actually Happened? Historians think that the large rock was already at Cefn Bryn long before people came to live there. They believe the rock was left over from the last Ice Age! Historians believe that neolithic people dug underneath the rock to build caverns underneath it. They put smaller stones underneath the large rock to hold it up. Photo courtesy of Robin Leicester (@wikimedia. com) - granted under creative commons licence – attribution
How Did It Break? In the same way, people have wondered how the stone broke? Here are come of theories: King Arthur split the stone in two using his famous sword Excalibur. St David, the patron saint of Wales, split the stone in two using his staff because he was angry at the monument. A miller tried to break the stone to make a new millstone (a stone which grinds wheat into flour to make bread). The rock was struck by lightning. Scientists believe that the weather eroded the stone over time and it just eventually broke off. How do you think the stone broke in two?
Cefn Bryn There are many myths, legends and historical explanations about why Cefn Bryn exists and how it was made. Which is your favourite? What does everyone else think? What’s the most interesting thing you have learned about Cefn Bryn? Photo courtesy of Nick Earl (@wikimedia. com) - granted under creative commons licence – attribution
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