An interview with Anne, a local volunteer. I speak to her about her experiences at both Tinkinswood and St Lythan’s.

Blwyddyn Newydd Dda! Happy New Year!

St Lythan’s chamber, by Adam Stanford

It’s been a while since we were digging at Tinkinswood and St Lythan’s, but we had an exciting and revealing time! Soon, we will be starting our outreach project, ‘Make and Break’, which will give the younger generation the chance to imagine themselves as Neolithic tomb builders, recreating their own performance at Tinkinswood in March.

People in the Neolithic are known to have deliberately broken, and given away their most treasured possessions. You are invited to join us at Tinkinswood to find out more, and watch as local schools make – and then break – their own prehistoric artefacts, recreating a Neolithic ritual ceremony.

The project aims to present children of KS2 with the opportunity to create their own prehistoric pots and then decide whether or not to then break them. ‘Make and Break’ gives people a chance to learn more about the prehistoric practices of the Neolithic, bringing to life the objects encountered in the archaeological field and inside museum cases. So, watch this space – exciting things to come!

Before we move on to the next stage of the project, here’s Anne, a local volunteer reflecting on her time with us as a volunteer at both Tinkinswood and St Lythan’s. She has been living in the village of St Nicholas since she was four, before moving up the road to St Lythan’s in later life. Her great uncle wrote a small leaflet describing the monuments, while he was working as a librarian at Cardiff University in the 30s. Here is Anne, talking to me inside the chamber at St Lythan’s, on a particularly pleasant day – weather-wise!

Anne, during her first week at Area 1, Tinkinswood, October 2011

Anne digging Trench 1 at St Lythan’s chambered tomb, November 2011