Uncovering a lost landscape

November 2, 2023 5 mins read
The archaeology of Llanddwyn Island



Located off the south coast of Anglesey, Llanddwyn Island has a religious past dating back more than 1,000 years.

Located off the south coast of Ynys Môn (Anglesey), Llanddwyn Island was home to a small monastic community for more than 1,000 years. Now a decade of archaeological investigations have shed vivid light on this remote religious community, documenting the remains of a 12th-century church and its surrounding landscape. George Nash, Philip Dell, Leslie Dodd, Thomas Wellicome, and Carol James explain further the history and archaeology of one of Wales’ hidden island gems.

Llanddwyn Island is linked to Anglesey by a short causeway that is periodically severed by the tide, and (limited) archaeological evidence suggests that humans have made this crossing since probably the Bronze Age, if not earlier. The story becomes clearer, however, in the medieval period, when more visible material evidence reflects the establishment of a small Benedictine monastery centred on Llanddwyn Abbey, in probably the 12th century. This was based around the lore of St Dwynwen, the Welsh patron saint of lovers – although her story is rather more complex than her romantic epithet implies.



The remains of the nave and chancel of St Dwynwen’s Church, looking south- west. Unusually, this building is oriented north-east to south-west.

According to legend, Dwynwen was one of 24 daughters (at least 24; some sources name more than 30) of King Brychan, a 5th-century ruler who himself later became a saint. She fell in love with a young man named Maelon, but (the narrative varies) was already promised to another or chastely rejected his advances. Maelon’s response to this disappointment was to force himself on Dwynwen, after which she prayed to God to forget her love for her attacker. The Almighty went further than this, however, transforming Maelon into a lump of ice, and as a final gift, the story goes, an angel also granted Dwynwen three wishes. Her first request was that Maelon be freed from his frozen fate; she next wished that all true lovers should either gain their heart’s desire or be released from their passions; and finally, she asked that she would never marry. This last wish was achieved when Dwynwen took the veil, retiring to a reclusive religious life on Llanddwyn Island, where she died around AD 460.

After Dwynwen’s death, the island became an important place of pilgrimage, and a church dedicated to the saint was built about 60m north of the monastic settlement, probably in the 13th century. This building was abandoned in the 18th century, and today its ruined remains represent one of the most visible reminders of the island’s religious story. The site is now a scheduled monument in the care of Cadw and, ahead of a long- term conservationrogramme that included re-flooring the interior of the church, we were tasked with carrying out an archaeological investigation of the remains. Monitored by Cadw and commissioned by Menter Môn, this initiative saw two trenches opened within the structure’s footprint, as well as a building survey, centred on the standing ruins of the nave and chancel. We carried out an earthworks survey, too, exploring the land immediately around the church and on the site of the former Benedictine monastery, as well as geophysical surveys of the surrounding landscape to the north and south of the church. So, what did we learn about the island’s ecclesiastical past?



After St Dwynwen’s Church was abandoned in the 18th century, the island was settled by lighthouse keepers and their families, who established two lighthouses overlooking the southern section of the Menai Strait. This one was built in the 19th century, several hundred metres west of its predecessor.

More:
https://archaeology.co.uk/articles/features/uncovering-a-lost-landscape.htm