Y GROMLECH
ADNODDAU I YSGOLION SIR BENFRO
ADNODDAU I YSGOLION SIR BENFRO
Castell Henllys is a very exciting place to visit! This is the only place where you can walk among reconstructed Iron Age roundhouses at exactly the same place they would have stood 2,000 years ago. Archaeologists and other experts have worked together to rebuild the houses using the same materials that were available in the Iron Age. The story of the hillfort comes to life in the company of Castell Henllys staff who wear period clothes. They are members of the 'Demetae' tribe, who lived in this corner of Wales before, during and after the Roman occupation. They demonstrate essential craft skills for life - grinding grain, weaving cloth, weaving baskets, baking bread etc.
But who were the Celts? How and when did they come to Pembrokeshire, and where? What were their skin, hair and bodies like?
We in Wales consider ourselves Celts - but we are very different to the Celts who lived here in the Iron Age. Iron Age Celts lived here before and after the Age of Christ. We go back a long time, - about two thousand years ago. If our years are numbered by the beginning of the year in which Christ was born - Iron Age Celts lived here 750 years before. The Iron Age came to an end in 43 AD when the Romans came to Britain. What language did they speak? What religion did they have? What legends did they tell over the fire? How did they pass on their myths?
What were the tools and artwork they liked to create? Did the Pembrokeshire Celts need to fight the Romans? If the Romans didn't attack us, why not?
The Celts lived throughout most of Europe during the Iron Age. Today the Celts live in Wales, Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, Cornwall and in Brittany, near France. Their culture continues today through the use of language, music, song and literature.
What do the huge stones all over the county teach us about them? What is the connection between the Preseli mountains and Stonehenge? What did the countries of the world look like in this period? Are we Celts today, or in some ways similar to them? Can we be proud of being of the same race?
There is an opportunity to learn about the plates of the earth moving to create new continents and the process of evolution. Darwin's work can be discussed, but also the work of Welsh scientist Alfred Russel Wallace.
What remains have the Celts left here in Pembrokeshire?
Do you know what effect the Celts had on the Welsh and the Welsh language?
Can you explain where the Welsh language comes from? Have you watched 'Taith yr Iaith'?
Have you watched Cân i Gymru? What is its connection to the Pan Celtic Festival? What's your favorite song that has won Cân i Gymru?