Pontnewydd Cave

Pontnewydd Cave

The earliest inhabitants of Cymru (Wales) lived in the vale of Elwy in the Palaeolithic site of Bontnewydd (Pontnewydd),near Llanelwy (Eng. St Asaph)in Sir Ddinbych/Denbighshire in North Wales; which was excavated from 1978 by a team from the Prifysgol Cymru/University of Wales, led by Dr Stephen Aldhouse Green. Teeth and part of a jawbone excavated in 1981 were dated to 225,000 years ago. This site is the most north-western site in Eurasia for remains of early hominids and is considered of international importance. Based on the morphology and age of the teeth, particularly the evidence of tauradontism, the teeth are believed to belong to a group of Neanderthals who hunted game in the vale of Elwy in an interglacial period.

nb.The site is known in the literature as Pontnewydd, (Eng. "Newbridge") however the Welsh language (Cymraeg) mutates initial consonants to aid pronunciation, so on roadsigns and to locals this site is known correctly as "Bontnewydd".

References

[*Dr Chris Stringer Homo Brittanicus 319 pages, publisher: Allen Lane (5 Oct 2006) ISBN-10: 0713997958, ISBN-13: 978-0713997958]

[National Museum of Wales http://www.museumwales.ac.uk/en/rhagor/article/?article_id=107]

Article on ancient burial practices-http://www.britarch.ac.uk/BA/ba66/feat1.shtml

Yn Gymraeg-http://www.amgueddfacymru.ac.uk/cy/rhagor/erthygl/?article_id=107

See also

*List of Neanderthal sites


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