Editing Glamorgan (section)

===Origins===
{{See also|Prehistoric Wales|}}
[[File:Parc le Breos, Gwyr o dde.JPG|thumb|{{center|[[Parc Cwm long cairn|<span lang="cy">''Parc Cwm''</span> long cairn]]<br>a [[Neolithic]] [[Chamber tomb|chambered tomb]] on the [[Gower Peninsula]]}}|alt=Front view of a cairn, from its right side, its boulders retained by a short wall that forms a courtyard at its entrance. The cromlech is set in flat ground of short grass (in dappled sunlight in the foreground and full sun elsewhere), dissected by a path passing behind it. Trees are mainly in leaf to its rear, among which a limestone kiln is visible at the foot of a gorge.]]

Glamorgan's terrain has been inhabited by [[Hominini|humankind]] for over 200,000 years. [[climate change (general concept)|Climate fluctuation]] caused the formation, disappearance, and reformation of [[glacier]]s which, in turn, caused sea levels to rise and fall. At various times life has flourished, at others the area is likely to have been completely uninhabitable. Evidence of the presence of [[Neanderthal]]s has been discovered on the [[Gower Peninsula]]. Whether they remained in the area during periods of extreme cold is unclear. Sea levels have been {{convert|150|m|ft}} lower and {{convert|8|m|ft}} higher than at present, resulting in significant changes to the coastline during this period.<ref name="Wales Hist 1">{{cite book|last=Davies|first=John|author-link =John Davies (historian)|title=A History of Wales|publisher=[[Penguin Books]]|year=1994|location=London|pages=1, 5, 17, 18|isbn = 0-14-014581-8}}</ref><ref name="Casglu 1">{{cite web|url=http://www.gtj.org.uk/en/small/item/GTJ27313/|title=Early Stone Age hand-held axe, 200,000 - 150,000 years old|publisher=Culturenet Cymru|year=2010|access-date=18 January 2010|work=Casglu'r Tlysau-Gathering the Jewels website|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604213857/http://www.gtj.org.uk/en/small/item/GTJ27313/|archive-date=4 June 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Tempus 13">{{cite book
  |editor-last = Morgan
  |editor-first= Prys
  |editor-link = Prys Morgan
  | title = History of Wales, 25,000&nbsp;BC AD&nbsp;2000
  | publisher = [[Tempus Publishing]]
  | year = 2001
  | location = Stroud, Gloucestershire
  | pages = 12–14
  | isbn = 0-7524-1983-8}}</ref>

[[Archaeological]] evidence shows that [[human settlement|humans settled]] in the area during an [[stadial|interstadial period]]. The oldest known human burial in Great Britain – the ''[[Red Lady of Paviland]]'' – was discovered in a coastal cave between [[Port Eynon]] and [[Rhossili]], on the Gower Peninsula. The 'lady' has been [[radiocarbon dated]] to c.&nbsp;29,000&nbsp;[[Before Present|years before present (BP)]] – during the [[Pleistocene|Late Pleistocene]] – at which time the cave overlooked an area of [[plain]], some miles from the sea.<ref name="Tempus 13"/><ref name="C4 Science 1">{{cite news|title=Red Lady skeleton 29,000 years old-Channel 4 News|url=http://www.channel4.com/news/articles/science_technology/red+lady+skeleton+29000+years+old/979762|access-date=7 January 2010|publisher=[[Channel 4]]|date=30 October 2007|work=Channel 4 website|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091219161548/http://www.channel4.com/news/articles/science_technology/red+lady+skeleton+29000+years+old/979762|archive-date=19 December 2009}}</ref>

From the end of the [[Last glacial period|last ice age]] (between 12,000 and 10,000&nbsp;BP) [[Mesolithic]] [[hunter-gatherer]]s began to [[Human migration|migrate]] to the [[Great Britain|British Peninsula]] – through [[Doggerland]] – from the [[central Europe|European mainland]]. [[Archaeology|Archaeologist]] Stephen Aldhouse-Green notes that while Wales has a "multitude" of Mesolithic sites, their settlements were "focused on the coastal plains", the uplands were "exploited only by specialist hunting groups".<ref name="Wales Hist 1"/><ref name="BBCHistory-P1">{{cite web|title=Overview: From Neolithic to Bronze Age, 8000–800 BC (Page 1 of 6)|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/british_prehistory/overview_british_prehistory_01.shtml|access-date=8 January 2010|publisher=BBC|date=5 September 2006|work=BBC History website}}</ref><ref name="Tempus 15">{{cite book
  |editor-last = Morgan
  |editor-first= Prys
  |editor-link = Prys Morgan
  | title = History of Wales, 25,000&nbsp;BC AD&nbsp;2000
  | publisher = [[Tempus Publishing]]
  | year = 2001
  | location = Stroud, Gloucestershire
  | page = 15
  | isbn = 0-7524-1983-8}}</ref>

[[File:Siambr Gladdu Lythian Sant.JPG|left|thumb|{{center|[[St Lythans burial chamber]]<br>a [[Neolithic]] ''[[Dolmen|portal dolmen]]'' in the [[Vale of Glamorgan]]}}|alt=Front view of a dolmen. Its massive capstone is supported by standing stones to either side, with another (triangular) supporting stone at the rear – like a doorless closet. The rear orthostat has a small round hole near the middle top. The dolmen is set in an open, sloping (higher–left, lower–right) meadow of uncut grass, with trees to the rear in the middle distance.]]
Human lifestyles in [[North-West Europe]] changed around 6000&nbsp;BP; from the [[Mesolithic]] [[nomadic]] lives of hunting and gathering, to the Neolithic [[Agriculture|agrarian]] life of agriculture and settlement. They cleared the forests to establish pasture and to cultivate the land and developed new technologies such as ceramics and textile production.<ref name="GGAT 72 (b)">{{cite web|title=GGAT 72 Overviews|url=http://www.ggat.org.uk/cadw/cadw_reports/pdfs/GGAT%2072%20Overviews.pdf|pages=7, 31 & 47|access-date=18 December 2008|publisher=[[Glamorgan-Gwent Archaeological Trust]]|year=2003|work=A Report for Cadw by Edith Evans BA PhD MIFA and Richard Lewis BA}}</ref><ref name="Tempus 17">{{cite book
  |editor-last = Morgan
  |editor-first= Prys
  |editor-link = Prys Morgan
  | title = History of Wales, 25,000&nbsp;BC AD&nbsp;2000
  | publisher = [[Tempus Publishing]]
  | year = 2001
  | location = Stroud, Gloucestershire
  | pages = 17, 20 & 24
  | isbn = 0-7524-1983-8}}</ref> A tradition of [[long barrow]] construction began in continental Europe during the [[5th millennium BC|7th millennium BP]] – the free standing megalithic structures supporting a sloping capstone (known as ''[[dolmen]]s)''; common over [[Atlantic Europe]]. Nineteen [[Neolithic]] [[Chamber tomb|chambered tombs]] (or ''long barrows'') and five possible [[henges]] have been identified in Glamorgan. These [[megalith]]ic burial chambers, or ''[[Dolmen|cromlechi]]'', were built between 6000 and 5000&nbsp;BP, during the early Neolithic period, the first of them about 1500 years before either [[Stonehenge]] or the Egyptian [[Great Pyramid of Giza]] was completed. Two major groups of Neolithic architectural traditions are represented in the area: [[Dolmen|portal dolmens]] (e.g. [[St Lythans burial chamber]] ([[Vale of Glamorgan]]), and Cae'rarfau (near [[Creigiau]])); and [[Severn-Cotswold tomb|Severn-Cotswold chamber tombs]] (e.g. [[Parc Cwm long cairn|''Parc Cwm'' long cairn]], (''Parc le Breos Cwm'', Gower Peninsula), and [[Tinkinswood|Tinkinswood burial chamber]] ([[Vale of Glamorgan]])), as well as tombs that do not fall easily into either group. Such massive constructions would have needed a large labour force – up to 200 men – suggestive of large communities nearby. Archaeological evidence from some Neolithic sites (e.g. Tinkinswood) has shown the continued use of cromlechi in the [[Bronze Age]].<ref name="Tempus 17"/><ref name="Acadmi 3">Davies (2008), p.605</ref><ref name="GGAT 3">{{cite web|title=GGAT 72 Overviews|url=http://www.ggat.org.uk/cadw/cadw_reports/pdfs/GGAT%2072%20Overviews.pdf|pages=3 & 8|access-date=9 January 2010|publisher=[[Glamorgan-Gwent Archaeological Trust]]|year=2003|work=A Report for Cadw by Edith Evans BA PhD MIFA and Richard Lewis BA}}</ref><ref name="Coflein1">{{cite web|title=Parc le Breos burial chamber;Parc Cwm long cairn:site details:Coflein |url=http://www.coflein.gov.uk/pls/portal/coflein.w_details?inumlink=6052756 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121223145706/http://www.coflein.gov.uk/pls/portal/coflein.w_details?inumlink=6052756 |url-status=dead |archive-date=23 December 2012 |access-date=9 January 2010 |publisher=[[Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales]] |year=2006 |work=The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales website }}</ref><ref name="Coflein2">{{cite web|title=Tinkinswood chambered cairn:site details:Coflein|url=http://www.coflein.gov.uk/en/site/94510/details/TINKINSWOOD+CHAMBERED+CAIRN/|access-date=9 January 2010|publisher=[[Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales]]|date=29 January 2003|work=The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales website|archive-date=19 May 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120519182602/http://www.coflein.gov.uk/en/site/94510/details/TINKINSWOOD+CHAMBERED+CAIRN/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Coflein3">{{cite web|title=St Lythans chambered cairn, Maesyfelin;Gwal-Y-Filiast:site details:Coflein|url=http://www.coflein.gov.uk/en/site/227289/details/ST+LYTHANS+CHAMBERED+LONG+CAIRN%2C+MAESYFELIN%3B+GWAL-Y-FILIAST/|access-date=9 January 2010|publisher=[[Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales]]|date=26 July 2007|work=The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales website|archive-date=17 July 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120717040000/http://www.coflein.gov.uk/en/site/227289/details/ST+LYTHANS+CHAMBERED+LONG+CAIRN%2C+MAESYFELIN%3B+GWAL-Y-FILIAST/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Bronze 166">{{cite book
  |last = Daniel
  |first= Glyn
  |author-link = Glyn Daniel
  | title = The Prehistoric Chamber Tombs of England and Wales
  | publisher = [[Cambridge University Press]]
  | year = 1950
  | location = London
  | page = 166
  }}</ref><ref name="Vale 11">{{cite web|title=Tinkinswood|url=http://www.valeofglamorgan.gov.uk/enjoying/visit_the_vale/attractions/historic/tinkinswood.aspx|access-date=12 January 2010|publisher=[[Vale of Glamorgan Council]]|year=2010|work=Vale of Glamorgan Council website|archive-date=15 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180915155231/http://www.valeofglamorgan.gov.uk/enjoying/visit_the_vale/attractions/historic/tinkinswood.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The [[Bronze Age]] – defined by the use of metal – has made a lasting impression on the area. Over six hundred Bronze Age [[Tumulus|barrows]] and [[cairn]]s, of various types, have been identified all over Glamorgan. Other technological innovations – including the [[wheel]]; harnessing [[oxen]]; [[weaving|weaving textiles]]; brewing [[alcohol (drug)|alcohol]]; and skillful metalworking (producing new weapons and tools, and fine gold decoration and jewellery, such as [[brooch]]es and [[torc]]s) – changed people's everyday lives during this period. [[Deforestation]] continued to the more remote areas as a warmer climate allowed the cultivation even of upland areas.

[[File:Wales.pre-Roman.jpg|thumb|right|292px|{{center|Tribes of Wales at the time of the Roman invasion<br>(The modern border with England is also shown)}}|alt=Map of Wales showing the names of Celtic British tribes in their territories]]
By 4000&nbsp;BP people had begun to bury, or [[cremation|cremate]] their dead in individual [[cist]]s, beneath a mound of earth known as a [[round barrow]]; sometimes with a distinctive style of finely decorated pottery – like those at [[Llanharry]] (discovered 1929) and at [[Llandaff]] (1991) – that gave rise to the Early Bronze Age being described as ''[[Beaker culture]]''. From c.&nbsp;3350&nbsp;BP, a worsening climate began to make agriculture unsustainable in upland areas. The resulting population pressures appear to have led to conflict. [[Hill fort#Britain|Hill fort]]s began to be built from the Late Bronze Age (and throughout the [[British Iron Age|Iron Age]] (3150–1900&nbsp;BP)) and the amount and quality of weapons increased noticeably – along the regionally distinctive tribal lines of the Iron Age.<ref name="GGAT 3"/><ref name="Wales Hist 11">{{cite book|last=Davies|first=John|author-link =John Davies (historian)|title=A History of Wales|publisher=[[Penguin Books]]|year=1994|location=London|pages=11 & 12|isbn = 0-14-014581-8}}</ref><ref name="Amgueddfa Beaker">{{cite web|title=The Beaker Folk of south Wales:Rhagor|url=http://www.museumwales.ac.uk/en/rhagor/article/1925/|access-date=10 January 2010|publisher=[[National Museum Cardiff|Amgueddfa Cymru–National Museum Wales]]|date=26 April 2007|work=Amgueddfa Cymru–National Museum Wales website|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120306041228/http://www.museumwales.ac.uk/en/rhagor/article/1925/|archive-date=6 March 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Wales Hist 14">{{cite book|last=Davies|first=John|author-link =John Davies (historian)|title=A History of Wales|publisher=[[Penguin Books]]|year=1994|location=London|page=14|isbn = 0-14-014581-8}}</ref><ref name="Amgueddfa Hill forts">{{cite web|title=Welsh Hillforts:National Museum Wales|url=http://www.museumwales.ac.uk/en/2370/|access-date=13 January 2010|publisher=[[National Museum Cardiff|Amgueddfa Cymru–National Museum Wales]]|year=2010|work=Amgueddfa Cymru–National Museum Wales website|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120306041238/http://www.museumwales.ac.uk/en/2370/|archive-date=6 March 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Archaeological evidence from two sites in Glamorgan shows Bronze Age practices and settlements continued into the Iron Age. Finds from ''[[Llyn Fawr]]'', thought to be [[votive offering]]s, include weapons and tools from the Late Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age. The hoard, described as "one of the most significant prehistoric metalwork hoards in Wales" has given its name to the [[Llyn Fawr Phase]], the last Bronze Age phase in Britain.<ref name="Coflein Llyn">{{cite web|title=Llyn Fawr:site details:Coflein|url=http://www.coflein.gov.uk/en/site/405461/details/LLYN+FAWR/|access-date=13 January 2010|publisher=[[Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales]]|date=29 November 2006|work=The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales website|archive-date=3 March 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120303195110/http://www.coflein.gov.uk/en/site/405461/details/LLYN+FAWR/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Amgueddfa Llyn">{{cite web|title=Cauldron from Llyn Fawr:National Museum Wales|url=http://www.museumwales.ac.uk/en/2351/|access-date=13 January 2010|publisher=[[National Museum Cardiff|Amgueddfa Cymru–National Museum Wales]]|year=2010|work=Amgueddfa Cymru–National Museum Wales website|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120306041245/http://www.museumwales.ac.uk/en/2351/|archive-date=6 March 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> Excavations at [[Llanmaes]], Vale of Glamorgan, indicate a settlement and "feasting site" occupied from the Late Bronze Age until the [[Roman Britain|Roman occupation]].<ref name="Amgueddfa Llanmaes">{{cite web|title=Prehistoric feasting in south Wales|url=https://museum.wales/articles/2007-05-04/Prehistoric-feasting-in-south-Wales/|access-date=24 August 2018|publisher=[[National Museum Cardiff|Amgueddfa Cymru–National Museum Wales]]|date=4 May 2007|work=Amgueddfa Cymru–National Museum Wales website}}</ref><ref name="Amgueddfa Llanmaes II">{{cite web|title=Llanmaes Archaeological Fieldwork, Vale of Glamorgan:National Museum Wales|url=http://www.museumwales.ac.uk/en/1492/|access-date=13 January 2010|publisher=[[National Museum Cardiff|Amgueddfa Cymru–National Museum Wales]]|year=2010|work=Amgueddfa Cymru–National Museum Wales website|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120306041256/http://www.museumwales.ac.uk/en/1492/|archive-date=6 March 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> Until the [[Roman conquest of Britain]], the area that would become known as Glamorgan was part of the territory of the [[Silures]] – a [[Iron Age tribes in Britain|Celtic British tribe]] that flourished in the Iron Age – whose territory also included the areas that would become known as [[Breconshire]] and [[Monmouthshire (historic)|Monmouthshire]].<ref name="Wales Hist 1"/> The Silures had hill forts throughout the area – e.g., [[Caerau Hillfort|Caerau]] ([[Cardiff]]), [[Afon Clun#Iron Age|Caerau hill fort, Rhiwsaeson]] ([[Llantrisant]]), and Y Bwlwarcau [Mynydd Margam], south west of [[Maesteg]] – and cliff castles along the Glamorgan coast – e.g., [[Burry Holms]] (Gower Peninsula). Excavations at one – Dunraven hill fort ([[Southerndown]], Vale of Glamorgan) – revealed the remains of twenty-one [[Roundhouse (dwelling)|roundhouses]].<ref name="Wales Hist 18">{{cite book|last=Davies|first=John|author-link =John Davies (historian)|title=A History of Wales|publisher=[[Penguin Books]]|year=1994|location=London|page=18|isbn = 0-14-014581-8}}</ref><ref name="Coflein Caerau I">{{cite web|title=Caerau hillfort:site details:Coflein|url=http://www.coflein.gov.uk/en/site/94517/details/CAERAU+HILLFORT/|access-date=13 January 2010|publisher=[[Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales]]|date=5 February 2003|work=The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales website|archive-date=19 May 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120519110829/http://www.coflein.gov.uk/en/site/94517/details/CAERAU+HILLFORT/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Coflein Caerau II">{{cite web|title=Caerau Hillfort, Rhiwsaeson, Llantrisant:site details:Coflein|url=http://www.coflein.gov.uk/en/site/93037/details/CAERAU+HILLFORT%2C+RHIWSAESON%2C+LLANTRISANT/|access-date=13 January 2010|publisher=[[Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales]]|date=5 September 2006|work=The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales website|archive-date=22 March 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090322022701/http://www.coflein.gov.uk/en/site/93037/details/CAERAU+HILLFORT%2C+RHIWSAESON%2C+LLANTRISANT/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Coflein Bwlwarcau">{{cite web|title=Y Bwlwarcau:site details:Coflein|url=http://www.coflein.gov.uk/en/site/301303/details/Y+BWLWARCAU/|access-date=13 January 2010|publisher=[[Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales]]|date=14 December 2007|work=The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales website|archive-date=16 September 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110916105459/http://www.coflein.gov.uk/en/site/301303/details/Y+BWLWARCAU/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Coflein Burry">{{cite web|title=Burry Holms Promontory fort:site details:Coflein|url=http://www.coflein.gov.uk/en/site/301302/details/BURRY+HOLMS+PROMONTORY+FORT/|access-date=13 January 2010|publisher=[[Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales]]|date=30 May 2002|work=The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales website|archive-date=3 March 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120303195204/http://www.coflein.gov.uk/en/site/301302/details/BURRY+HOLMS+PROMONTORY+FORT/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Coflein Dunraven">{{cite web|title=Dunraven hillfort:site details:Coflein|url=http://www.coflein.gov.uk/en/site/300161/details/DUNRAVEN+HILLFORT/|access-date=13 January 2010|publisher=[[Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales]]|date=6 December 2002|work=The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales website|archive-date=3 March 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120303195217/http://www.coflein.gov.uk/en/site/300161/details/DUNRAVEN+HILLFORT/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Many other settlements of the Silures were neither hill forts nor castles. For example, the {{convert|3.2|ha|acre|0|adj=on}} [[Cardiff Roman Fort|fort]] established by the [[Roman army|Romans]] near the estuary of the [[River Taff]] in 75&nbsp;AD, in what would become Cardiff, was built over an extensive settlement established by the Silures in the 50s&nbsp;AD.<ref name="Coflein 2">{{cite web
|title=Cardiff Roman Settlement:site details:coflein
|url=http://www.coflein.gov.uk/en/site/301346/details/CARDIFF+ROMAN+SETTLEMENT/
|access-date=13 January 2010
|publisher=[[Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales]]
|date=30 August 2007
|work=The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales website
|archive-date=27 July 2011
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727072730/http://www.coflein.gov.uk/en/site/301346/details/CARDIFF+ROMAN+SETTLEMENT/
|url-status=dead
}}</ref>