Burry Holms () ( cy, Ynys Lanwol), a
tidal island with the height of () is at the northern end of
Rhossili Bay in the
Gower Peninsula,
Wales. During spring and summer, Burry Holms is covered by flowers such as
thrift
Thrift may refer to:
* Frugality
* A savings and loan association in the United States
* Apache Thrift, a remote procedure call (RPC) framework
* Thrift (plant), a plant in the genus ''Armeria''
* Syd Thrift (1929–2006), American baseball exec ...
and
sea campion
''Silene uniflora'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae known by the common name sea campion.
Description
''Silene uniflora'' is a herbaceous perennial plant, similar in appearance to the bladder campion (''Silene vulga ...
.
Etymologies
The island was well known within
Celtic Christianity
Celtic Christianity ( kw, Kristoneth; cy, Cristnogaeth; gd, Crìosdaidheachd; gv, Credjue Creestee/Creestiaght; ga, Críostaíocht/Críostúlacht; br, Kristeniezh; gl, Cristianismo celta) is a form of Christianity that was common, or held ...
as it was heavily associated with traditions of
Saint Cenydd
Saint Cenydd (Modern cy, Cennydd; french: Kinède; century), sometimes anglicisation, anglicised as Saint Kenneth, was a Celtic Christianity, Christian hermit on the Gower Peninsula in Wales, where he is credited with the foundatio ...
(who is thought to have lived there as a hermit). As such, it would certainly have had an identifiable name in
Old Welsh
Old Welsh ( cy, Hen Gymraeg) is the stage of the Welsh language from about 800 AD until the early 12th century when it developed into Middle Welsh.Koch, p. 1757. The preceding period, from the time Welsh became distinct from Common Brittonic ...
, possibly using Cenydd as an
eponym. Later records of the name ''"Saint Kenyth atte Holmes"'' may also suggest a pre-Norse nomenclature associated with Cenydd. Despite this, the current English names only date back to the Norse period and the
Modern Welsh name, Ynys Lanwol ("tidal island") is thought to be a relatively recent appellation.
"''
Holmes''" is a common element of
English place-names in Wales, ultimately deriving from the
Old Norse ''holmr'', which denotes "a small and rounded islet". The island appears as ''"Holmes"'' and ''"Holmes en Gower"'', in the Calendar of Patent rolls entries for the 1440s, where it is listed as a "chapel or hermitage". Variations on the Norse/English name continued into the modern era, with the island simply named as ''Holmes Island'' on early tithe maps (listed as a "
Rectorial Glebe" of the parish of
Llangennith).
The modern English name, Burry Holms is another recent appellation with the word Burry likely referring to the island's archaeological remains.
History
9,000 years ago, the sea was up to 12 miles (19 km) away. Inhabited by
nomadic
Mesolithic
The Mesolithic (Greek: μέσος, ''mesos'' 'middle' + λίθος, ''lithos'' 'stone') or Middle Stone Age is the Old World archaeological period between the Upper Paleolithic and the Neolithic. The term Epipaleolithic is often used synonymous ...
hunter
Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...
s,
flint tools provide the first evidence of their existence.
Charcoal-charred hazelnut
The hazelnut is the fruit of the hazel tree and therefore includes any of the nuts deriving from species of the genus ''Corylus'', especially the nuts of the species ''Corylus avellana''. They are also known as cobnuts or filberts according t ...
tools made out of
wood and
bone were found in 1919. A 1998
excavation
Excavation may refer to:
* Excavation (archaeology)
* Excavation (medicine)
* ''Excavation'' (The Haxan Cloak album), 2013
* ''Excavation'' (Ben Monder album), 2000
* ''Excavation'' (novel), a 2000 novel by James Rollins
* '' Excavation: A Memo ...
by the
National Museums and Galleries of Wales
National may refer to:
Common uses
* Nation or country
** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen
Places in the United States
* National, Maryland, ce ...
found that Burry Holms was used as a Mesolithic seasonal camp.
Iron Age people subsequently built a
hillfort and
ditch on the island, while in
Medieval times it was home to a
monastery. The island is popular among collectors of
shells.
See also
*
List of hillforts in Wales
References
External links
BBC history article
www.geograph.co.uk : photos of Burry Holms and surrounding areaArtifacts from Burry Holms on Gathering the Jewels
{{Gower Peninsula
Gower Peninsula
Hillforts in Swansea
Islands of Swansea
Prehistoric sites in Swansea
Tidal islands of Wales