ASTONISHING finds dating back more than 1,600 years discovered on a Llangefni college site were revealed to the public by a top international archaeologist.
Dr Irene Garcia Rovira, of Archaeology Wales, gave a series of free talks last week to explain some of the items found during part of an archaeological dig at Coleg Menai’s Pencraig Campus.
The experts have revealed dozens of 'Cist' style graves and skeletons in "astonishingly good preservation." Finds also include a Quernstone surface, revealed on the western side of an early medieval cemetery by Archaeology Wales.
Other finds include a 2nd century AD Roman coin, and some decorative native bronze Celtic items.
Irene said: "Results so far are for just one half of the site, and that the true picture will not be gained until both Archaeology Wales and Brython Archaeology combine the two sides of the excavation into a single publication.
"From our half of the site, it is quite interesting that the earliest dates show that the first use of the cemetery go almost as far back as the Roman departure of Wales.
"Isotope analyses show that some individuals are not from Anglesey, and include two examples from Scandinavia and two from Iberia."
Around 60 people gathered at Llangefni Town Hall, last Friday to hear about the discoveries.
The college campus has tripled in size, after a £20m investment. Contractors first came across part of the cemetery in 2016 when Anglesey County Council and the Welsh Government were building the first phase of the new £11.4m Llangefni Link Road, connecting the Campus to the A55.
An initial dig revealed the remains of 54 people. First indications were that the cemetery date was probably Early Medieval period, but a 2017 summer excavation revealed the remains of a further 32 people, suggesting the cemetery was used for a much longer period of time.
Grwp Llandrillo-Menai CEO Dafydd Evans said: “This has been an exciting discovery suggesting some kind of settlement has existed at Llangefni for almost the last 2,000 years."
Once the experts have completed their work, the college will be working in partnership with Anglesey County Council and the finds will be available for viewing at the Llangefni Oriel Ynys Môn gallery and museum.
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