Llyn Fawr (large lake''
' in
Welsh) is a reservoir that occupies one of a series
glacial cirques that form the northern escarpment of the
South Wales Coalfield
The South Wales Coalfield ( cy, Maes glo De Cymru) extends across Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire, Swansea, Neath Port Talbot, Bridgend, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Merthyr Tydfil, Caerphilly, Blaenau Gwent and Torfaen. It is rich in coal deposits, espe ...
uplands, overlooking the heads of the
Vale of Neath
The Vale of Neath (or Neath Valley, Welsh: ''Cwm Nedd''), one of the South Wales Valleys, encompasses the upper reaches of the River Neath in southwest Wales. In addition to the River Neath, it is traversed by the Neath Canal and the A465 dual ...
and the
Cynon Valley
Cynon Valley () is a former coal mining valley in Wales. Cynon Valley lies between Rhondda and the Merthyr Valley and takes its name from the River Cynon. Aberdare is located in the north of the valley and Mountain Ash is in the south of th ...
,
South Wales. It is known as the site of an important
hoard of weapons and tools from the late
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second prin ...
and early
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostl ...
.
It lies on the northern flanks of
Craig-y-Llyn, a mountain that is designated as a
Site of Special Scientific Interest. The western cirque contains Llyn Fach (small lake''
'). While in government terms, it falls in the unitary authority of
Rhondda Cynon Taf
Rhondda Cynon Taf (; RCT; also spelt as Rhondda Cynon Taff) is a county borough in the south-east of Wales. It consists of five valleys: the Rhondda Fawr, Rhondda Fach, Cynon, Taff (Welsh: ''Taf'') and Ely valleys, plus a number of towns and vill ...
, in geographic terms it is actually in the Vale of Neath and its excess waters (all its water before conversion) flow into Nant Gwrelych, which flows into the
River Neath
River Neath ( cy, Afon Nedd) is a river in south Wales running south west from the point at which its headwaters arising in the Brecon Beacons National Park converge to its mouth at Baglan Bay below Briton Ferry on the east side of Swansea Ba ...
at
Pont Walby
Pont, meaning "bridge" in French, may refer to:
Places France
* Pont, Côte-d'Or, in the Côte-d'Or ''département''
* Pont-Bellanger, in the Calvados ''département''
* Pont-d'Ouilly, in the Calvados ''département''
* Pont-Farcy, in the Calva ...
near
Glynneath
Glynneath ( cy, Glyn-nedd "valley of the River Neath"), also spelt ''Glyn-neath'' and ''Glyn Neath'', is a small town, community and electoral ward lying on the River Neath in the county borough of Neath Port Talbot, Wales. It was formerly in th ...
. Less than 1 km to the southeast and south lie the headwaters of the
Rhondda Fawr and Rhondda Fach rivers, while 1.5 km to the southwest lie the headwaters of
River Corrwg.
Drinking water reservoir
Owing to its rapid and massive industrialisation during its coalfield boom (population increasing from 951 in 1851 to 113,735 in 1901), the
Rhondda Valley
Rhondda , or the Rhondda Valley ( cy, Cwm Rhondda ), is a former coalmining area in South Wales, historically in the county of Glamorgan. It takes its name from the River Rhondda, and embraces two valleys – the larger Rhondda Fawr valley ...
, which lies on the south side of the escarpment, surpassed the supply of water it could source from its own river, so in 1909 the Water Works division of
Rhondda Urban District Council contracted builders to convert Llyn Fawr into a reservoir. Originally having an area of 11.927 acres (0.048 km
2), the lake was expanded, by the construction of a 25-foot high
embankment dam and deepening of lake bed, to give a total storage volume of 200,000,000 gallons (909 megalitres). With work completed in 1913 giving the new lake a surface area of 21.616 acres (0.087 km
2), which then was increased again to 24.75 acres (0.100 km
2) sometime before 1970s. The raw water supply then being pumped through a 1.25-mile long tunnel under Craig-y-Llyn to Ty'n-y-waun
water treatment works, in
Tynewydd
Tynewydd is a village located in the County Borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, south Wales. With Treherbert, Blaencwm, Blaenrhondda and Pen-yr-englyn it is part of a Community (Wales), community of Treherbert. The village lies in the former industrial ...
, Rhondda. This tunnel is still a critical part of
Welsh Water
Welsh may refer to:
Related to Wales
* Welsh, referring or related to Wales
* Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales
* Welsh people
People
* Welsh (surname)
* Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...
's infrastructure, supplying the majority of the water supply for the Rhondda valley.
Although it is subsiding due to collapsing coal working below, with water now pooling in the middle,
investigation is being made into either ways to stabilise it or replace it.
Bronze age hoard
It was during the deepening of the lake that the Llyn Fawr Hoard was discovered between 1909 and 1912. It contains many objects from the late
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second prin ...
, but also a number of iron objects, notably an iron sword of the
Hallstatt
Hallstatt ( , , ) is a small town in the district of Gmunden, in the Austrian state of Upper Austria. Situated between the southwestern shore of Hallstätter See and the steep slopes of the Dachstein massif, the town lies in the Salzkammergut ...
type. Two other iron implements were found – a
spear
A spear is a pole weapon consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head. The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with fire hardened spears, or it may be made of a more durable material fasten ...
and a socketed sickle. Bronze items included two
cauldron
A cauldron (or caldron) is a large pot ( kettle) for cooking or boiling over an open fire, with a lid and frequently with an arc-shaped hanger and/or integral handles or feet. There is a rich history of cauldron lore in religion, mythology, and ...
s and
axe
An axe ( sometimes ax in American English; see spelling differences) is an implement that has been used for millennia to shape, split and cut wood, to harvest timber, as a weapon, and as a ceremonial or heraldic symbol. The axe has ma ...
heads. The items appear to have been placed in the lake as
votive
A votive offering or votive deposit is one or more objects displayed or deposited, without the intention of recovery or use, in a sacred place for religious purposes. Such items are a feature of modern and ancient societies and are generally ...
offerings. The date of these items is uncertain because of the context of the finds, but the sword is thought to date from about 650 BC. It is the earliest iron object to have been discovered in
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
. The hoard gave its name to the
Llyn Fawr Phase, which is the last phase of the
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second prin ...
in
Britain
Britain most often refers to:
* The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands
* Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...
. The hoard is now in the possession of the
National Museum 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, c ...
.
References
Leslie Alcock (1972) ''The Irish Sea Zone in the Pre-Roman Iron Age'' CBE Research Report 9
Bibliography
* Frances Lynch, Stephen Aldhouse-Green & Jeffrey L. Davies (2000) ''Prehistoric Wales'' (Sutton Publishing)
External links
Entry for bronze cauldron at National Museum WalesBronze cauldron found at Llyn FawrReconstruction of an offering at Llyn Fawrwww.geograph.co.uk : photos of Llyn Fawr and surrounding area
{{authority control
Archaeological sites in Rhondda Cynon Taf
Fawr
Bronze Age sites in Wales
Prehistoric sites in Wales
Iron Age Britain
Votive offering