Skomer Island Preserved Remains Of A Prehistoric Settlement

Ynys Sgomer – Tŷ cynhanesyddol ac iddo waliau cerrig. Cwt rhif 20 yw’r enw arno.
Skomer Island - Prehistoric stone-walled house, known as hut number 20.
(Image/Llun: DS2010_550_005 / NPRN: 24369)

Ynys Sgomer
Mae Ynys Sgomer (gair o Lychlyn sy’n disgrifio ffurf hollt yr ynys) ymhlith y tirweddau archaeolegol gwychaf ym Mhrydain. Dau ymchwilydd o’r Comisiwn Brenhinol, Toby Driver a Louise Barker, sy’n astudio sut mae pellter cymharol yr ynys o’r tir mawr, ac effaith gyfyngedig amaethyddiaeth ddiweddar, wedi diogelu olion yr anheddu cynhanesyddol.

Gan fod Ynys Sgomer mor anghysbell, mae cryn dipyn o’r tir arni heb ei droi ers y cyfnod cynhanesyddol a phrin yw’r adeiladau a godwyd yno. Er bod yr ynys yn enwog erbyn hyn am ei bywyd gwyllt a’i hecosystemau, mae’r darnau tir sydd heb eu troi ac arnynt gytiau bach, cytiau anifeiliaid, ffermydd a chyfundrefnau cywrain o gaeau o’r Oesoedd Efydd a Haearn yn dangos i ni sut y byddai’n hynafiaid cynhanesyddol wedi byw ac wedi trin y tir. Ein prif ffynhonnell o wybodaeth yw arolwg manwl John Evans – arolwg a gyhoeddwyd ym 1990 – ynghyd â gwaith arolygu cynharach W F Grimes.

Mae’n hysbys bod y priddoedd ar Sgomer yn ffrwythlon ac iddynt gael eu ffermio yn ystod y canrifoedd diweddar. Pan groesodd cymunedau cynhanesyddol i Sgomer gyntaf, mae’n debyg bod yno gynefin dymunol, coetir derw yma ac acw, hinsawdd digon braf, ac amryw o ffynhonnau a nentydd o ddŵr croyw. Ar gyrion yr ynys, yn bennaf, y mae’r aneddiadau cynhanesyddol wedi goroesi, ac yn rhan ganol yr ynys mae’r caeau a gafodd eu creu yn y ddeunawfed ganrif a’u hamaethu tan 1948 wedi dileu llawer o olion adeiladweithiau cynharach. Dyma’r union batrwm a welwyd dro ar ôl tro ar ôl tro ar draws tir mawr Sir Benfro. Ceir digonedd o olion bywyd yn y pentrefi bach. Mae’n fwy na thebyg mai tystiolaeth o safleoedd coginio yw’r twmpathau o gerrig llosg yn ymyl y tai, ac mae’r mynedfeydd mwyfwy cul i rai ffermydd, a llociau cylchog neu â siâp D iddynt hwnt ac yma, yn dystiolaeth bendant o gadw anifeiliaid. Yn wir, mae caeau cynhanesyddol, a ddefnyddid yn wreiddiol i bori defaid, gwartheg a hyd yn oed foch, yn ymestyn allan o’r pentrefi bach a’u brigiadau. At economi cymysg o dda byw a grawn byddai’r trigolion wedi ychwanegu adnoddau o’r môr a’r arfordir: adar y môr a’u hwyau, morloi, gwymon ac amrywiaeth o bysgod cregyn a physgod y môr. Rhwng y rheiny i gyd, byddai’r teuluoedd ar Sgomer wedi bwyta cyfuniad amrywiol a maethlon o fwyd. Gall grwpiau o garneddi cerrig ar hyd pentiroedd mwy anghysbell yr arfordir fod yn henebion claddu neu’n dystiolaeth, lle ceir hwy yn nes at y ffermydd, o gyd-drefnu clirio caeau.

Un peth amlwg sy’n dwyn i gof ddefodau a chladdiadau cynhanesyddol ar yr ynys yw Maen Harold, maen hir sy’n 1.7 metr o uchder. Mae’n codi o waelod llydan hyd at bwynt, a’i ymylon yn rhedeg bron o’r de i’r gogledd; mae ei wyneb llydan wedi’i droi i wynebu’r môr tua’r dwyrain a’r ynys tua’r gorllewin. Er nad oes dyddiad i Faen Harold hyd yn hyn, mae’r gwaith cloddio wrth feini tebyg eraill yn Sir Benfro bob amser wedi rhoi dyddiad cynhanesyddol o’r Oes Efydd iddynt. Teg, felly, yw tybio mai heneb o’r Oes Efydd yw’r maen hwn hefyd a’i fod yn sefyll uwchben claddiad (neu wrn corfflosgi) neu ddarn tir o weithgarwch defodol ac angladdol sydd bellach wedi’i gladdu. Mae Sian Rees (Cadw) wedi nodi bod Maen Harold i’w weld yn glir wrth ddod ato o’r môr ac fe all fod wedi’i ddefnyddio i rybuddio am beryglon y creigiau dan y tonnau. Mae hynny hefyd yn ddamcaniaeth ddefnyddiol. Er nad oes gan y maen ddim perthynas amlwg â’r terfynau caeau cynhanesyddol cyfagos sy’n mynd heibio’n eithaf agos iddo ar yr ochr orllewinol, mae’n sefyll tua phen dwyreiniol bloc pendant o gaeau heb fod yn bell i’r de o’r brigiad amlwg y cafwyd, mae’n debyg, ddarn cyfleus o garreg ohono. Gall y maen, felly, fod wedi sefyll ar ymyl plot cyfoes o gaeau. Mae carneddau a thwmpathau eraill yn hysbys ar Sgomer a gall o leiaf rai ohonynt fod yn garneddau claddu sy’n gyfoes â’r maen hir hwn.

Cysylltau:

• Cofnod Ynys Sgomer yn Coflein.
• Cofnod Maen Hir Harold yn Coflein.

Ynys Sgomer, maen hir Harold, llun o’r gorllewin.
Skomer Island, Harold stone standing stone, view from west.
(Image/Llun: DS2010_548_003 / NPRN: 305372)

Skomer Island
Skomer Island (a Scandinavian word which describes the cloven shape of the island) ranks among the finest archaeological landscapes in Britain. Royal Commission investigators Toby Driver and Louise Barker look at how comparative isolation from the mainland, and the limited impact of recent agriculture, has preserved the remains of prehistoric settlement.

The remoteness of Skomer Island means that considerable tracts have not been ploughed or built on since prehistoric times. It is now famed for its wildlife and ecosystems, but on the unploughed parts of the island small huts, animal pounds, farmsteads and elaborate systems of fields survive from the Bronze and Iron Ages to show us the ways in which our prehistoric ancestors lived and worked the land. A detailed survey by John Evans, published in 1990, together with earlier survey work by W F Grimes, represent our main source of information.

The soils on Skomer are known to be fertile and were farmed in recent centuries. When prehistoric founding communities first made the crossing to Skomer it is thought the island would have presented a favourable habitat, with a light covering of oak woodland, an equable climate, and a number of freshwater springs and streams. Prehistoric settlements chiefly survive on the peripheries of the island, while in the central area, fields dating from the eighteenth century and farmed until 1948, have largely obliterated any traces of earlier structures, in a pattern repeated endless times across mainland Pembrokeshire. Traces of life are abundant within these small hamlets. Mounds of burnt stone close to houses are probably evidence for cooking sites, whilst funnel entrances to some farms, and isolated circular or D-shaped enclosures, are tangible evidence of stock management. Indeed, prehistoric fields, originally used for grazing sheep, cattle and even pigs, radiate outwards from the hamlets and their outcrops. A mixed economy of livestock and cereals would have been supplemented with coastal and marine resources: sea-birds and their eggs, seals and seaweed, plus a range of shellfish and sea-fish. In all, the Skomer families would have enjoyed a varied and nutritious diet. Groups of stone cairns along more remote coastal headlands may be burial monuments, or evidence for organised field clearance where they occur closer to farms.

One prominent reminder of prehistoric ritual and burial on the island is The Harold Stone, a 1.7 metre high standing stone. It tapers from a broad base to a point, with its edges aligned nearly north-south; its wide face is orientated to face the sea to the east and the island to the west. Although the Harold Stone is currently undated, excavations at other similar stones in Pembrokeshire have always yielded a prehistoric, Bronze Age, date. It is therefore safe to assume that this stone is also a Bronze Age monument, marking a burial (in a cremation urn) or an area of now buried ritual and funerary activity. Sian Rees (Cadw) has noted that the Harold Stone stands as a prominent marker on the skyline as one approaches by sea and may have been used as a transit marker to clear submerged dangers. This is also a useful hypothesis. The stone does not have an obvious relationship to the adjacent prehistoric field boundaries that pass close to it on the west side, however, it does stand towards the eastern end of a distinct block of fields, not far to the south of a prominent outcrop that no doubt provided a convenient slab. Therefore the stone may have stood at the edge of a contemporary plot of fields. Other cairns and mounds are known from Skomer, at least some of which may be burial cairns contemporary with this standing stone.

Links:

• Skomer Island Coflein entry.
• Harold Stone Standing Stone Coflein entry.

Blog Links: 

• The Archaeology of Skomer Island 
•  First Archaeological Flight Over The Smalls Reef, Pembrokeshire

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