Qualla: Llyn Cerrig Bach

Llyn Cerrig Bach: Introduction

Sun, 24 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Porius1, CC BY-SA 3.0. William Owen Roberts was the head groundsman at RAF Valley in 1942, and his immediate problem was that the Spitfires and Hurricanes needed a longer runway. Anglesey was a key piece of the Battle of the Atlantic; the Coastal Command base on the island's western edge was being expanded to handle bigger aircraft. While clearing peaty ground beside a small lake called Llyn Cerrig Bach for the runway extension, Roberts hit metal - a heavy iron chain. He pulled it out and showed it to someone who knew what it was. What it was, was a slave chain. And it was about to lead archaeologists to one of the greatest Iron Age treasure hoards in Britain.

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Image: Porius1 | CC BY-SA 3.0

Llyn Cerrig Bach: The Chain That Was Not for Cattle

Sun, 24 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Richard Keatinge, CC BY-SA 3.0. The chain was a gang chain - iron links and collars designed to fasten prisoners or slaves together by the neck. It was unmistakably Iron Age in style, two thousand years old. The archaeologist Cyril Fox, who came to Anglesey to study the find, made the case that this was the phy...

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Image: Richard Keatinge | CC BY-SA 3.0

Llyn Cerrig Bach: What Was Thrown Into the Water

Sun, 24 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Llywelyn2000, CC BY-SA 4.0. Once the chain had been identified, the search of the surrounding peat began in earnest. The chain turned out to be the beginning. Over 150 Iron Age metal objects came out of the lake bed in total - eventually 181 artefacts, by the National Museum of Wales count - making this the...

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Image: Llywelyn2000 | CC BY-SA 4.0

Llyn Cerrig Bach: A Sanctuary at the Edge of the World

Sun, 24 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Eric Jones, CC BY-SA 2.0. The objects had been deliberately thrown into the lake over a long period - votive offerings to the gods or spirits of the water. The collection covers several centuries, which means the practice continued generation after generation. Llyn Cerrig Bach was a sanctuary. To stand at...

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Image: Eric Jones | CC BY-SA 2.0

Llyn Cerrig Bach: What the Lake Holds Now

Sun, 24 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Talsarnau Times, CC BY-SA 3.0. Most of the finds went to the National Museum of Wales in Cardiff, where they remain part of the permanent collection. From November 2012 onwards a substantial portion has been on long-term loan to Oriel Mon, the museum and gallery in Llangefni, returning the artefacts much close...

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Image: Talsarnau Times | CC BY-SA 3.0