Preseli Hills
Encyclopedia
Welsh language
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
: Mynydd Y Preseli / Y Preselau - also spelt Presely) (and also recorded as Mynydd Prescelly) are a range of hill
Hill
A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. Hills often have a distinct summit, although in areas with scarp/dip topography a hill may refer to a particular section of flat terrain without a massive summit A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. Hills...
s in north Pembrokeshire
Pembrokeshire
Pembrokeshire is a county in the south west of Wales. It borders Carmarthenshire to the east and Ceredigion to the north east. The county town is Haverfordwest where Pembrokeshire County Council is headquartered....
, West Wales
West Wales
West Wales is the western area of Wales.Some definitions of West Wales include only Pembrokeshire, Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire, an area which historically comprised the Welsh principality of Deheubarth., an area called "South West Wales" in the Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics....
. They form part of the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park
Pembrokeshire Coast National Park
Pembrokeshire Coast National Park is a national park along the Pembrokeshire coast in West Wales.It was established as a National Park in 1952, and is the only one in the United Kingdom to have been designated primarily because of its spectacular coastline...
.
The hills rise to 536 metres above sea level
Sea level
Mean sea level is a measure of the average height of the ocean's surface ; used as a standard in reckoning land elevation...
at Foel Cwmcerwyn
Foel Cwmcerwyn
Foel Cwmcerwyn is the highest point of the Preseli Hills and of Pembrokeshire. It lies within the borders of the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park although it is 10 km from the sea. A path leads to the summit from the village of Rosebush in the south-west...
and are dotted with prehistoric remains including evidence of Neolithic
Neolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
settlement. In 1923, the petrologist Herbert Henry Thomas
Herbert Henry Thomas
Herbert Henry Thomas FRS was a British geologist who linked the bluestones at Stonehenge with rocks in south west Wales. He won the Murchison Medal....
identified that bluestone
Bluestone
Bluestone is a cultural or commercial name for a number of dimension or building stone varieties, including:*a feldspathic sandstone in the U.S. and Canada;*limestone in the Shenandoah Valley in the U.S...
from the hills corresponded to that used to build the inner circle of Stonehenge
Stonehenge
Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument located in the English county of Wiltshire, about west of Amesbury and north of Salisbury. One of the most famous sites in the world, Stonehenge is composed of a circular setting of large standing stones set within earthworks...
and more recent geologists have identified Carn Menyn
Carn Menyn
Carn Menyn is a grouping of craggy rock outcrops or tors in the Preseli Hills in the Welsh county of Pembrokeshire.The name means "Butter Rock". It is sometimes called Carn Meini , but this is a modern corruption of the original name...
, sometimes called Carn Meini, as one of the bluestone sources. Others theorise that bluestone from the area was deposited close to Stonehenge by glaciation.
Slate
Slate
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. The result is a foliated rock in which the foliation may not correspond to the original sedimentary layering...
quarrying was once big business in the Preseli Hills and remnants of the quarries can still be seen in Rosebush, Pembrokeshire
Rosebush, Pembrokeshire
Rosebush is a small village in Pembrokeshire, West Wales. It lies at the south of the Preseli Hills, about one mile northwest of the village of Maenclochog.- Amenities :...
and there is a slate workshop today still at Llangolman
Llangolman
Llangolman is a village and parish on the southern flank of the Preseli Hills in Pembrokeshire, Wales. It is part of the community of Mynachlog-ddu.- History :...
where authentic Welsh slate is still used in a variety of craft items.
During the Second World War, the UK War Office
War Office
The War Office was a department of the British Government, responsible for the administration of the British Army between the 17th century and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the Ministry of Defence...
used the Preseli Hills for training exercises. Its continued use for training exercises following the war was the subject of protest by Plaid Cymru
Plaid Cymru
' is a political party in Wales. It advocates the establishment of an independent Welsh state within the European Union. was formed in 1925 and won its first seat in 1966...
.
Sacred and historic sites
Sacred and historic sites of the Preseli Mountains include:Beddyrafanc
Bedd Arthur
Bedd Arthur
Bedd Arthur or Arthur's Grave is a possible prehistoric hengiform monument megalithic site in the Preseli Hills in the Welsh county of Pembrokeshire....
Bedd Morris
Budloy Stone
Carn Alw
Carn Besi
Carn Bica
Carn Meini
Carn Menyn
Carn Menyn
Carn Menyn is a grouping of craggy rock outcrops or tors in the Preseli Hills in the Welsh county of Pembrokeshire.The name means "Butter Rock". It is sometimes called Carn Meini , but this is a modern corruption of the original name...
Chambered Cairn
Carn Sian
Carreg Coetan Arthur
Carreg Coetan Arthur
Carreg Coetan Arthur is the name of a neolithic dolmen near Newport in North Pembrokeshire, Wales.Carreg Coetan Arthur dates from around 3000 BC and is the remains of a Neolithic burial chamber ....
Castell Henllys
Castell Henllys
Castell Henllys is an important archaeological site in north Pembrokeshire, Wales, between Newport and Cardigan....
Castell Pen yr Allt
Cerreg Lladron
Cerreg Meibion Arthur
Cerreg y Gof
Coitan Arthur
Crugiau Dwy
Crug-yr-Hwch
Dyffryn Stones
Foel Feddau
Frenni Fawr
Garreg Hir
Glandy Cross Complex
Glyn Gath
Gors Fawr
Llech-y-Drybedd
Maenllwyd y Rhos
Maen-y-Parc "A"
Maen-y-Parc "B" and "C"
Moel Drygarn
Mynyedd Carningli
Mynyedd Melyn
Parc-y-Meirw
Parc Carrig Hirion
Perc y Tywood Maenhir
Penian Stones
Pentre Ifan
Pentre Ifan
Pentre Ifan is the name of an ancient manor in the civil parish of Nevern, in North Pembrokeshire, West Wales. It contains the largest and best preserved neolithic dolmen in Wales.-History:...
Rhos fach Standing Stones
The Stone River
St Teilo's Church
Tafarn y Bwlch
Temple Druid Standing Stone
Tre-Fach Standing Stone
Trellyffant
Ty Meini
Waun Lwyd Stones
Waun Mawn Row or Circle
Waun Mawn Stone