‘About a quarter of a mile higher up the vale, I met with the remainder of a round column, perhaps one of the most antient of any British inscribed pillar now existing.’
T. Pennant, Tours in Wales Vol. II, (1781), p. 7
By the time Concenn (808-854/5),1 Prince of Powys raised the Pillar of Eliseg in the narrow Nant Eglwyseg sometime in the first half of the 9th century, the cairn it was to stand atop for the next millennia and more and stands there still was already some 2500 years old. It is certain that both cairn and cross were still cherished and revered at the beginning of the 13th century, when Madog ap Gruffudd (d.1236), Prince of Powys Fadog donated the land about the monument to the Order of Cistercians, and the abbey of Valle Crucis was built - ‘yNol yr Hen Groes yn Ial’.2 And it was the mystery and romance of the cairn and cross that in the 1770s, inspired John Trevor, upon whose lands the monuments stood, to excavate the cairn, repair, inscribe and re-erect the fallen pillar.
This was no ordinary cairn and it was no ordinary cross that was raised on its summit. It whispers to us of the ancient importance of the Nant Eglwyseg, it tells us of the political and often violent turmoil of the centuries following the Roman departure from these Islands, and speaks to us of a landscape that inspired the artist and bard - and continues to do so.
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A rather wonderful sketch of Eliseg's Pillar by Thomas Rowlandson (1797) - Valle Crucis Abbey, as ever, in the near distance.
We can be certain that the Pillar of Eliseg was raised upon the existing Bronze Age cairn during the reign of Concenn, who ruled the Kingdom of Powys between AD 808-854, give or take. This is known from the extraordinary transcriptions of the now lost Latin inscription that was to be found upon the shaft. There can be no doubt that the Pillar - the remains of what was probably a near 4m tall round shafted cross, was of huge significance to those that fashioned it. And it is clear that this significance was enhanced by its raising upon the ancient Bronze Age cairn.
In the understandable focus on the exceptional early medieval Pillar of Eliseg, the cairn it stands upon is often overlooked - another grassy mound in a wider landscape of grassy and heather bound mounds. But in fact, there is much which is curious here.
For one, the cairn rests in a rare lowland setting. Edward Lhuyd, writing at the end of the 17th century, mentions one other in the area - the now lost Boncyn Gefeilau at nearby Rhewl. Cairns are more often to be found on higher ground, here upon the Eglwyseg and Ruabon Mountains. These sites were part of what were likely a complex of ritual sites, while the peoples who visited them lived in the lower, fertile valleys and upon the valley slopes. Why then should this cairn upon which the Pillar of Eliseg was raised be situated here, in this lowland setting? Reasoned speculation is all we have. It could, of course, reflect the importance and position of those buried within it. This may be true, but its likely real siting here was to do with its position at the pinch point of ancient routeways, leading north to south, east to west. A cairn placed here would undoubtedly have served to demonstrate power and prestige to those that made their way through the Nant Eglwyseg. Would those who walked these routeways have known what power was being impressed upon them? Possibly. Probably. The determined siting of the cairn is something we shall come back to with the raising of the cross upon its height some 2500 years later.
For another, the site began as an Early Bronze Age kerbed platform cairn - something of a rarity in Wales.3 To date something shy of 25 such sites have been identified in Wales, with perhaps the best existing example being that found within the Early Bronze Age complex at Brenig, some 24 miles to the west of Llangollen.
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Brenig 51 - An early Bronze Age platform cairn, overlooking the modern Llyn Brenig (1973-76).
Within this first phase of the cairn, two burial cists were discovered, both located at the edges of the site. The first, known unsurprisingly as Cist 1, was small, inserted at ground level, and contained the cremated bone of at least one adult. This primary burial was greatly disturbed by the later 18th century excavation.
The second burial, known now as Cist 3, represents, in the words of Professor Nancy Edwards, ‘one of the most unusual Early Bronze Age burial deposits’ yet found in Wales. The much larger Cist 3 was found to contain the largest amount of cremated bone material measured by both weight and the number of bodies found anywhere in Wales. The first deposit within Cist 3 amounted to at least 4 individuals - a child (1-6 years of age), an adolescent (13-17 years of age), a young adult (18-25 years of age) and an older adult, probably female and in excess of 40 years of age. The presence of the remains of a bone fastener and pin suggests that the bodies were clothed when cremated. Green stains within the cist would also suggest that a bronze object was once present.
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Cist 3 was later re-opened for a further burial, a key feature of Early Bronze Age funeral practices. Excavations in 2012 discovered that a kerbstone of the platform cairn had been removed (and not replaced), probably in order to gain access to the cist enabling the secondary cremated remains to be interred. This later burial was of at least two individuals - a young child (1-6 years of age) and an older adult (over 25 years of age) and probably male. This range of ages, together with the reuse of the cist, would suggest the burials were of a family group. The finding of very limited amounts of charcoal has been interpreted as suggesting that the pyre upon which the bodies were cremated was very carefully picked over, removing as much of the non-human material as possible before the remains were interred. The bodies had been placed in separate areas of the cist, and possibly then within organic containers. It was also noted that the mudstone, inner face of the cist walling had a rippled effect, suggesting they were chosen for an aesthetic effect.
The 2nd phase of activity at the site was the development of a round cairn over the initial platform, creating the mound that remains today, and upon which the Pillar of Eliseg still stands. This later mound was smaller than the large platform cairn, and was found to contain a cist which was somewhat larger than those of the earlier burials. Cist 2 however, did not have anywhere near the amount of cremated bone as found in the older Phase 1 cists, seeming to be what has been interpreted as a token burial - representative of the later Bronze Age. It is possible that as well as damaging the Cist 1 burial, the later 18th century antiquarian excavations destroyed a further Phase 2 burial.
It should also be noted that a short distance to the north of the existing cairn and pillar, within the same field in fact, a crop mark identified in 2014 would suggest the presence of a Bronze Age ring ditch. It seems certain that it would have enjoyed a ritual relationship with the nearby cairn, similar to that between Boncyn Arian and the ring cairn at the Brenig Bronze Age complex.
It is worth speculating as to the reason the Bronze Age peoples decided to raise here a platform cairn, and later the round cairn. As has already been mentioned, most Bronze Age cairns are to be found on higher ground. Those near to Eliseg’s Pillar are to be found upon the surrounding mountains, at heights reaching well in excess of 400m. Those at Brenig, which share some of the characteristics of the Eliseg cairn, also exceed heights of 400m. On the valley floor of the Nant Eglwyseg, however, the Eliseg cairn is on ground barely above 100m. There are examples of lowland cairns to the north, in the Alun Valley on the outskirts of Mold and it is possible that these cairns, including the famous example at Llong, were intended to be surrounded by flood waters, enhancing, in some way, their ceremonial importance. Certainly, the find of a rare jet necklace at Llong would suggest a site of real import.4 At Llantysilio, however, it is not thought the field was flooded by the little Afon Eglwyseg, and it would seem further unlikely given the presence of what was possibly a ring cairn - a likely functional and much frequented ritual site. It seems likely, in fact, that the cairn was raised here because of the geographical importance of the site - at the crossroads of routeways, both north to south and east to west. While more will be said of this later, in relation to the raising of the 9th century Pillar of Eliseg, it is possible that both Bronze Age monuments here, beside what is now the modern A542, were raised to enhance their status, to mark the burial place of an important family group. It is interesting that the likely motivation of the raising of the cairn and the much later cross were near identical.
There is very little to indicate that there was further activity at the cairn during the later long years of the Bronze Age. In fact, there is little in the way of evidence of Iron or Roman Age activity at the site. This is curious, of course, since the unignorable presence of hillforts along the Vale of Llangollen shouts of an Iron Age presence nearby. The 13th century Castell Dinas Bran was built within the embankments of an earlier hillfort, and there are further hillforts at Trevor and Ruabon.5
What does this tell us of the position held, perhaps the role of the Bronze Age cairn in the many, many years leading up to the raising of the Pillar of Eliseg? There is no tangible evidence of an Iron Age recycling of the cairn in any way, and it thus seems likely that it remained as a waypoint, marking the old routeways through the Nant Eglwyseg that undoubtedly remained in use. There is evidence that the Iron Age peoples held these cairns is high esteem,6 and the unusual lowland setting here may have given them cause to wonder, making something of an impact on those living and travelling within the area.7
The Pillar of Eliseg by Henri Gastineau, 1829
There is also a curious lack of Roman evidence of activity in the near area - a bit of pottery here, a bit there. Given the impact of the Roman occupation on these Islands, it is easy to equate a Roman presence with legions of Roman born infantry and bureaucrats holed up in windswept, rain lashed waystations, marching forts and newly built cities, clutching their togas tightly to their frozen bodies and day dreaming of a distant home, but in fact, a Roman presence is more often felt not in the actual presence of natural born Romans, but in the finding of artefacts, most in the ownership of native peoples with a taste and the wealth for such things. What is curious here, is the deep dearth of such objects in the surrounding area. The Nant Eglwyseg is not all that distant from Chester (Deva), and closer still to the growing body of evidence of a considerable presence in the Wrexham area. The Roman road linking Corwen to Ruthin and St Asaph (Varis) is also not that very far away, and the nearby Shropshire border is heavy with such evidence. The answer may lie in the understanding that in North East Wales, as far as the rapacious Romans were concerned, lead was king, and thus their attention was more closely focused on the mineral laden hills of Flintshire, rather than the slate of the Bwlch yr Oernant.8
The presence of the cairn at the intersecting routeways here, seems to have, in effect, further enhanced its relevance to those peoples living in and travelling through the Nant Eglwyseg, through the Bronze, Iron and Roman Ages. It is probable that these ancient cairns were already revered, but here within the Nant Eglwyseg, the cairn was undoubtedly considered special. The cairn sits within what has been described as a natural amphitheatre, and to stand by the monument and the remains of the cross is to feel this keenly. The surrounding hills and pathways seem to empty themselves into its presence.
So when Concenn, son of Cattell, Prince of Powys came to raise what became known as the Pillar of Eliseg during the first half of the 9th century, ostensibly in memory of the exploits of his great grandfather, it was here on this cairn that he chose to do so - resplendently visible to all those who moved through the Nant Eglwyseg. But of course, this was not the only motivation. This is no ordinary pillar, no simple memory of an ancestor. It is something far more, far greater.
What remains of the Pillar is a fraction of what was originally raised over a millenia hence, and considerably less than that seen by Robert Vaughan and Edward Lhuyd in the 16th and 17th centuries, and from whom we know of an astonishing worn-lost Latin inscription, etched into its flank and contemporary with its raising. We are left now with part of a cylindrical cross-shaft of Gwespyr sandstone, horizontal roll moulding separating the weathered shaft from the quadrangular sectioned top with its distinctive curved swags on each face.
What once was, however, is astonishing in the light it casts upon this area of Powys during those ill-lit years following the Roman withdrawal, at the beginning of the 5th century. It is difficult to say for certain how the cross would have originally appeared, and there has been much reasoned speculation over the many years it has been written of. Still, it is thought that some two thirds of the cross remains, and that it was originally a free-standing round shafted cross, perhaps an imposing 4m in height. In form it bears similarities with a number of Mercian crosses, such as the later Clulow and Blackden Heath crosses in Cheshire. But despite some historians believing that the origins of the pillar lay elsewhere,9 a study which established that the cross was fashioned from Cefn Fedw sandstone fairly certainly tethers it locally. It remains a possibility that it was inspired by Mercian fashions, perhaps even Roman fashions, but there is nothing to suggest that it was anything other than of Powysian origin.
Perhaps its greatest claim to fame is the enigmatic Latin inscription that was once to be found on its west facing flank. It has long since weathered away, and even the most oblique of strong artificial light can now barely discern anything of the original etching. Thankfully, some 31 lines of the original inscription were copied by the antiquarian, Edward Lhuyd at the end of the 17th century. Robert Vaughan of Hengwrt (c.1592-1667) had taken an earlier transcription, amounting to some 16 lines,10 but it is Lhuyd’s efforts, of which two extant copies remain, which are generally relied upon. Still, by the time of Lhuyd’s visit, the inscription had worn away considerably, to the point where his transcription was an incomplete record of the original inscription. And by the time of Pennant’s visit a century or so later at the end of the 18th century, the inscription was entirely illegible, and thus he made no attempt to add anything to the transcription made by, ‘that great antiquary’. Almost tiresomely, there have been several suggestions over the years that Lhuyd’s transcription contained errors, but the hefty weight of work upon his transcription points to it being a faithful copy.
John Ingleby - 1795. The Pillar is in the middle distance.
In translation, the inscription gives a fascinating insight into the politics of the region, both historically and contemporary to the time of the raising of the pillar. Ostensibly, it is a dedication to Eliseg, ruler of Powys who, according to the inscription, had expelled the Mercian Saxons from his territory - this would be likely some time in the mid 8th century. It is clear that the Pillar was raised by Concenn (Cyngen), the great grandson of Eliseg, and given we have a fairly accurate date range of Concenn’s rule, we can be sure then that the Pillar dates to the first half of the 9th century.
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+Concenn son of Cattell, Cattell son of Brochmail, Brochmail son of Eliseg, Eliseg son of Guoillauc.
+Concenn therefore, great-grandson of Eliseg, erected this stone for his great-grandfather Eliseg.
+It was Eliseg who united the inheritance of Powys … however through force … from the power of the English … land with his sword by fire(?).
[+]Whosoever shall read out loud this hand-inscribed … let him give a blessing [on the soul of] Eliseg.
+It is Concenn … with his hand …his own kingdom of Powys … and which … the mountain.
… monarchy … Maximus of Britain … Pascent … Maun Annan … Britu moreover [was] the son of Guarthigirn whom Germanus blessed [and whom] Sevira bore to him, the daughter of Maximus the king, who killed the king of the Romans.
+Conmarch represented pictorially this writing at the demand of his king, Concern.
+The blessing of the Lord upon Concenn and likewise(?) on all of his household and upon the province of Powys until …
Translation: Nancy Edward, Rethinking the Pillar of Eliseg, The Antiquaries Journal, Vol 89, (2009), p.173, itself based on the work of J. Rhys (1908)
Nothing now remains of the 9th century Latin inscription - weathered away.
Eliseg (Elisedd ap Gwylog) is thought to have been a contemporary of Offa of Mercia11 - perhaps one of the most feared of early English kings and famous for being responsible, it is thought, for the raising of the dyke that took his name, and stretched for much of the border between the Mercians and the native Welsh. For Eliseg to expel the Mercians from Powysian territory was quite the achievement and worthy of a memorial. It is also worth a hail-mary punt to wonder as to whether the building of Offa’s Dyke was not in fact a response to Eliseg’s success along the Powys frontier - either a tacit or perhaps even an overt recognition of the new border between Mercia and Powys. It is not surprising then that Concenn would want to identify himself with his hugely successful great grandfather - legitimising his power in Powys, and perhaps further afield.
The Pillar is certainly an extraordinary genealogical record of the royal line of Powys, of Concenn and his ancestors. The inscription stretches back into the 4th century to the Roman general and eventual emperor, Magnus Maximus,12 whose daughter, Sevira, the inscription claims to have been the wife of Guarthigirn - otherwise known as Vortigern, considered by many to be a founder of the Kingdom of Powys.13 Concenn, it seems, is not only legitimising his own right to rule by attaching himself to legendary figures from the very beginning of Powys, but also inserting himself into a Welsh heroic past. And this inscribed heroic ancestry, which reaches out far beyond the borders of his own kingdom, gives rise to a further intriguing possibility - that Concenn was perhaps trying to establish his credentials as a leader of the Welsh beyond his own kingdom.
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However, the inscription is clearly something more than a genealogical record of the rulers of Powys, extraordinary as this is, and a thrilling memorial to the heroic exploits of Eliseg. The use of the Latin word, ‘recitare’ has been interpreted as indicating that the inscription was intended to be read aloud, suggesting an act of ceremony.14 This leads to further intriguing possibilities, suggesting that the Pillar of Eliseg could well have been a mustering point for Powysian, Welsh forces, a place of official gatherings, even perhaps royal inaugurations in which the lineage of the rulers of Powys were declared aloud to the gathered elite, having made their way to the valley site along the old routeways that converged on the ancient cairn and Pillar. Is it possible that it was here that the leaders of Powys and Mercia met to agree on a border, then etched into the landscape with the raising of Offa’s Dyke? Such notions are intensely exciting, if largely speculative, but there can be no doubt that the now lost inscription on the Pillar of Eliseg points to a site of very real importance, an aged continuation of relevance - a site which forces us to ask searching questions as to the role of this little area of Wales.
‘Whosoever shall read out loud this hand-inscribed … let him give a blessing [on the soul of] Eliseg.’
It’s likely that the name of Eliseg remained one of renown, since it stayed as sound currency within the Powysian royal line, with a son of Madog ap Maredudd (d.1160) named Elise. The Pillar was clearly still a cherished monument when Madog ap Gruffudd (d.1236) of Powys Fadog and a nephew of Elise, granted the lands upon which the cairn and Pillar had been raised, to the monastic Cistercian Order. Valle Crucis was founded in 1201, taking its name from the pillar to its near north - Valley of the Cross. It first enters recorded history some 250 years later in a later 15th century copy of the Brenhinedd y Saeson, contained within the Black Book of Basingwerk,15 copied by the poet Gutun Owain (1460-1498), who spent a considerable amount of time at the Abbey under the patronage of the abbot, Dafydd ab Ieuan ab Iorwerth. The Abbey was referred to by Owain as being sited in ‘yNol yr Hen Groes yn Ial’ - the Meadow of the Ancient Cross of Iâl. The famous Guto’r Glyn (1412-1493) was also under the patronage of Dafydd ab Ieuan ab Iorwerth, perhaps more closely than Gutun Owain, and wrote in praise of Dafydd and of the Abbey, identifying it with the nearby Pillar of Eliseg.
Mae eryr ar holl wÅ·r llên
Mae plas i’r Mab hael Iesu,
Mae ’ngwlad Iâl ym angel du;
Mae anrhydedd mwy’n rhedeg,
Maint gras Duw ’m Mhant-y-groes deg.16
Valle Crucis Abbey, viewed from the monastic pond. Trevor Lloyd's summer house to the left.
Very little is written of the Pillar between the praise poems of Owain and Glyn in the 15th century and the stirrings of an antiquarian interest in the 17th century - probably due to the Dissolution and the closure of Valle Crucis Abbey. Robert Vaughan of Hengwrst, the much celebrated antiquary and collector of Welsh manuscripts,17 visited the monument in 1648 and transcribed some 16 lines of the inscription.18 It is possible that this visit was in some way motivated by his father’s belief that his family’s ancestry could be traced back to Bleddyn ap Cynfyn, prince of Powys.
John Aubrey (1626-97), the antiquary, writer and wit made a visit during his travels through these Islands, and made mention of the Pillar in his unpublished, monumental Monumenta Britannica (1682), noting that it had fallen down, or more likely been pulled down, probably during the Civil Wars earlier in the 17th century. Aubrey’s attention to the Pillar may have been prompted by his friendship with Meredith Lloyd, a cousin of Robert Vaughan. Despite leaning heavily on Edward’s Lhuyd’s inscription, it would seem he was something of a 17th century johnny-come-lately with regards to the Pillar. But it is fascinating that given Lhuyd’s friendship with Aubrey, there is a clear cord of connection between him and Vaughan.
Edward Lhuyd’s transcription of the inscription is still relied upon today, almost entirely in fact. But he also came to some conclusions which have been disproven along the way. He was of opinion that the Pillar had never been, ‘intended for a crosse’,19 and that the mound upon which it was raised had been built for that purpose, curiously dismissing the fact that it was actually upon an ancient cairn. His belief that the Pillar was in fact, just that, a pillar, was also supported by later historians and commentators, including Pennant,20 who thought the monument was a repurposed Roman column, removed from Chester or Wroxeter.
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This antiquarian interest continued well into the 18th century, with the considered opinion that the Pillar had never been a cross seemingly accepted. In 1773, the antiquarian, Daines Barrington had a letter read out at a meeting of the Society of Antiquaries, in which he brought to their attention the inscription on the Pillar, which he had received from the Bishop of St Asaph. Within the minutes of that meeting is a fascinating illustration of the Pillar as forwarded to the Society. It shows both the condition of the Pillar contemporary to the letter, and a considered reconstruction of its original form, as an obelisk.
Thomas Pennant visited the Pillar at the end of the 18th century, and refers to the monument as a column, stating, ‘the pillar had never been a cross.’ In this he would seem, as others, to be following Lhuyd’s conclusion, though it is interesting that in the later, Rhys edited Tours, the unequivocal claim that the monument was never a cross has been removed. Pennant (and Rhys) is likely to have been informed by the recent excavation of the mound by the local landowner, Trevor Lloyd, which had unearthed at least one burial, and make plain that the Pillar stood atop a tumulus - a distinct swerve away from Lhuyd’s belief that the mound was contemporary with the column.
‘Within these few years the tumulus was opened, and the reliques of certain bones found there, placed as usual in those days between some flat stones.’
Pennant, Tours in Wales, Vol.II, p.9
The fact that so many dismissed the Pillar as a cross for so long remains a strangeness, given that the nearby Abbey took its name from the monument. It is entirely possible that on the Abbey’s foundation in 1201, that the crosshead was still recognisable and in situ. It seems to have been an opinion that remained in circulation for a considerably longer time than that which considered the mound contemporary with the raising of the ‘column.’ Pennant was clear the mound was sepulchral, as it would seem, was Richard Fenton, visiting the Pillar in 1808, who described the Pillar as, ‘surmounted on an elevated heap like a tumulus.’ Pennant did, however, share the opinion of his antiquarian predecessors that the Pillar had shattered during the Civil Wars.
‘It was entire till the civil wars of the seventeenth century, when it was thrown down and broken by some ignorant fanatics.’
Pennant, Tours in Wales Vol. II, p.7
Moses Griffiths worked closely with Thomas Pennant throughout his Tours in Wales.
Previous to Pennant’s visit, Trevor Lloyd, upon whose lands the Pillar of Eliseg and Abbey stood, took it upon himself to excavate the monument. The dig took place in 1773, with practically everything we know of the work coming from the writer W. T. Simpson,21 local to Llangollen. Writing in 1827, Simpson claims to have spoken with two workers who were present at Lloyd’s excavation. It is clear that their memory of the findings were embellished to a considerable extent, but there are hints of truth. On digging into the cairn beneath the fallen Pillar, they claim a ‘sort of stone box or coffin’ was discovered, which does in fact sound very much like a cist. However, their description of the body found within is difficult to credit, given the cremated remains found in later excavations.
‘The bones were entire, and of very large dimensions. The skull and teeth, which were very white and perfect, were particularly sound.’
W. T. Simpson, History of Llangollen and its Vicinity, (1827), p. 71
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Simpson was also able to speak with another, ‘now very old man’, a huntsman to Trevor Lloyd at the time of the excavation, who described how the skull, apparently removed to nearby Trevor Hall, was gilded in an effort to preserve it and returned to the cairn, along ‘with its kindred bones’. But there was more, since he tells of a now lost silver coin discovered within the original cist. This coin has been much debated in recent years, and deemed unlikely to have ever actually existed. However, if such a coin was in fact deposited within the cist, and were to be found, it would give rise to something of a reinterpretation of the history of the cairn. The old man was asked by Simpson if the found bones were sound, to which he was answered,
‘O, no, sir; they broke like gingerbread.’
Simpson, p.71
Trevor Lloyd was keen to create a romanticised landscape, swiftly becoming all the very rage within Britain during the 18th century. With the European Grand Tour becoming increasingly difficult with the slow grind of the Napoleonic Wars at the end of the 18th century, such British efforts were hoped to suffice for the gentry with the time and wealth to wander. Lloyd’s efforts to create such an idyllic landscape on his very doorstep centred on the Pillar of Eliseg. With the end of the excavations, the Pillar was re-erected in 1779 - it had, it seems, been in several pieces prior to Lloyd’s excavations.
‘Portions of the pillar remained prostrate at the foot of the mound until the year 1779 when they were joined together and re-erected upon the original pedestal on the summit of the mound.’
Royal Commission, Denbigh, (1914), p. 159
Lloyd had the pedestal placed atop a dry stone plinth, built to raise the height of the monument to a point where it could be viewed from a newly built summer house at Valle Crucis Abbey. Lloyd added an inscription to the eastern face of the Pillar remembering the event.22
Quod hujus veteris Monumenti
Superest
Diu ex oculis remotum
Et neglectum
Tandem restituit
T. LLOYD
de
TREVOR HALL
A. D.
M D C C L X X I X
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Trevor Lloyd's inscription from 1779 - itself becoming increasingly difficult to read.
The Pillar, along with Valle Crucis Abbey became a considerable draw through to the end of the 19th century, with many artists, antiquarians and a growing number of tourists visiting the Nant Eglwyseg. Many took advantage of the coming of the railway to the Vale of Clwyd. J. W. M. Turner made a pencil drawing of the Pillar in the early 1790s, and in his letters mentions the resetting of the Pillar at Lloyd’s instigation. Tennyson’s daughter visited in 1856, and wrote of visiting the ‘pillar on a knoll gay with wild roses in a cornfield.’ Many were curious, some were eager to immerse themselves in a distant, romantic past, while others were pioneers of the study of early British history, gathering what evidence they could to bring light to the past. The Pillar became embroiled in various arguments as to the nature of our prehistoric past, a lightning rod of sorts for the opinions of the learned and wishful thinkers, shoehorned into all manner of myth and legend - sentiments well caught and breathlessly expressed in a poem by Jeremiah Holmes Wiffen (1792–1836), a poet who taught himself Welsh, enamoured by a heroic past.
The Dee’s Druid Waters
I cross’d in its beauty thy Dee’s Druid water,
The waves, as I pass’d, rippled lowly and lone;
For the brave on their borders and perished in slaughter,
The noble were vanis’d, the gifted were gone!
I pass’d by thy pillar, firm rooted to waken
Long mem’ry of chiefs, that in battle had sunk;
But the earthquake of ruin its basis had shaken,
The voice of the thunder had shatter’d its trunk!23
That said, by the end of the 19th century, there were clear concerns that the Pillar was becoming uncared for and in need of some attention, as the following anonymous letter to the Llangollen Advertiser, dated November 1887, makes quite clear.
‘I am sorry to say it is nearly tumbling down – there seems to be not even the least care taken of it. Surely, such an old relic is worth preserving. Who is it that will be good enough to see to the matter betimes? Being so near the Abbey and on the same land, had it not better be placed under the care of the keeper of the Abbey? On visiting the place a few days ago, I found the stone foundation of the large pedestal crumbling down – indeed, it is but as a heap of small loose stones! This part wants rebuilding in mortar, and the base of the Pillar itself requires repairing with cement, as I found a fragment lying on the ground a few yards off. May I also suggest that the old mound on which the erection stands be kept clear of all rubbish, inasmuch as I noticed the time I was there that a large heap of refuse disfigured the neighbourhood of the ancient monument.’
The Pillar as photographed by the Royal Commision for Ancient Monuments in 1913
By the beginning of the 20th century, an iron railing had been placed about the Pillar, affording some protection, though photographs show that there were trees growing upon the mound, their roots working into depths, potentially disturbing the archaeology - these were probably finally removed after the eventual designation of the Pillar as an ancient monument in 1934.
The remains of the ninth century cross remain upon the 4000 year old Bronze Age cairn, at this crossroads of ancient routes, still used by those travelling through the Nant Eglwyseg. Overlooked by the high hills and mountains which surround it, it is not a hard thing to imagine the raising of the cross so long ago, the people of Powys watching on, perhaps in awe, perhaps in reverence, this memorial to a long gone king and his heroic exploits. If you try, if you want, perhaps you may hear Conmarch, whispering from ages past, reciting the long ancestral route of Concenn to distant kings and emperors. That is what it means to have these wonders from the past still stand within our modern world. It is a small miracle that this wonder has survived.
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Footnotes
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[1] Concenn - otherwise known as Cyngen ap Cadell. To avoid confusion, I will continue to use the name as it appears on the Pillar.
[2] ‘In the meadow of the Ancient Cross in Iâl.’ Black Book of Basingwerk.
[3] There could, of course, be plenty more examples yet to be found.
[4] One is reminded of the ceremonial importance of surrounding waters throughout history, in such places at Llanynys for instance. The River Alun continues to whisper to us of its role in Bronze Age society.
[5] Hillforts at Trevor (Pen y Gaer) and Ruabon (y Gardden). There is also a suggestion of a hillfort at Vivod, to the west of Llangollen.
[6] There are a number of Iron Age hillforts in the Clwydian Range which have incorporated Bronze Age cairns within the embankments. While this at first may seem a matter of practicality, sharing an elevated position, the fact that they have seemingly been left undisturbed, suggests an endearing respect.
[7] It is worth reminding ourselves that when we talk of Iron Age people, that we are not talking of some new species, inherently different to the Bronze Age peoples. We refer to their means of industry, perhaps, their cultural efforts in interacting with their surroundings - an ever developing sense of who they were. But, fundamentally, we are talking of the same people, ancestors that lived within the Bronze Age, that made efforts to understand their past and their ancestors' place in it, and of course, its effect on their present - as do we.
[8] The Pass of the Cold Stream. Known also as the Horseshoe Pass.
[9] ‘I believe it to have been originally a Roman column from some Roman building, perhaps brought hither from Deva (Chester); perhaps from Uriconinm (Vroxeter). It has the peculiar emphasis or swelling of the columns of classic art.’ Bloxam, p.375
[10] While Vaughan transcribed 16 lines in the mid 17th, Lhuyd copied 31 lines later in the same century. Why the discrepancy? It is thought that Vaughan perhaps found the inscription partially obscured in some unknown fashion. It seems highly unlikely that he would have copied only part of the inscription had it been fully visible.
[11] It is possible that rather than Offa, Eliseg ruled contemporary to Athelbald, one of Offa’s predecessors as King of Mercia. That said, Mercia during much of the 8th century was the most powerful of the Saxon kingdoms of England. Athelbald or Offa - Eliseg’s achievement was significant.
[12] Magnus Maximus has entered a Welsh heroic past as Macsen Wledig, hero of the Dream of Macsen Wledig.
[13] It will come as no surprise to find that there are other contenders.
[14] It is also worth noting, that splendidly, the name of the author of the inscription has been included in the inscription. One cannot but wonder as to who Conmarch was, his place in the Powysian regime. One cannot but wonder.
[15] Though it was at Basingwerk Abbey at the Dissolution, it is thought the Black Book was originally compiled at Valle Crucis. Yr vn vlwyddyn honno yr adeilodd Madoc ap Gruffydd Maelor vynachloc Lanegwest yNol yr Hen Groes yn Ial - That same year Madog ap Gruffudd Maelor built the monastery of Llanegwestl in Dôl yr Hengroes in Iâl (Meadow of the Old Cross in Iâl). Brenhinedd y Saesson, ed. T.Jones (Cardiff), 1971, p. 197
[17] Y Bywgraffiadur Cymreig - Robert Vaughan
[18] See note 10.
[19] Gunther, p. 307
[20] Pennant was more than likely simply accepting Lhuyd’s opinion - and why not?
[21] Simpson also repeats the assertion that the Pillar had never been a cross, likely repeating the sentiments of Lhuyd & Pennant.
[22] ‘That which remains of this old monument, long removed from eyes and neglected, T. Lloyd of Trevor Hall finally restored AD 1779’
[23] Full Poem - If you dare: https://www.jstor.org/stable/30069230
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Further Reading
M. H. Bloxam, On the Pillar of Eliseg, near Valle Crucis, Co. Denbigh, Journal of The British Archaeological Association 39, (1883)
E. Davies, The Prehistoric & Roman Remains of Denbighshire, Cardiff, (1929)
N. Edwards, Early Medieval Inscribed Stones and Stone Sculpture in Wales: Context and Function, Medieval Archaeology, Vol. XLV, (2001)
N. Edwards, Rethinking the Pillar of Eliseg, The Antiquaries Journal, Cambridge University Press, Vol. 89 (2009)
N. Edwards, G. Robinson & H. Williams, Excavations at the Pillar of Eliseg Llangollen 2010-2012, CADW, Bangor & Chester, Final Report 2015
N. Edwards, Afterlives: reinventing early medieval sculpture in Wales, Bangor University, (2020)
R. Fenton, Tours in Wales (1804-1813), ed. J. Fisher, London, (1917)
R. T. Gunther, Early Science in Oxford Vol XIV, Life and Letters of Edward Lhwyd, Oxford University Press, (1945)
Guto’r Glyn, To thank Abbot Dafydd ab Ieuan of Valle Crucis for a buckler, Guto’r Glyn.net
D. Hill & D. Seddon, An Unrecorded Anglo-Saxon Cross Shaft, Transactions of the Lancashire and Cheshire Antiquarian Society, Vol 94, (1998)
O. Jones, E. Williams & W. O. Pughe, The Myryrian Archaiology of Wales, Denbigh, (1870)
T. Jones (ed.), Brut y Tywysogyon or The Chronicle of the Princes (Peniarth MS. 20 Version), Cardiff, (1952)
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T. Jones (ed.), Brenhinedd Y Saesson or The Kings of the Saxons, Cardiff, (1971)
R. A. S. Macalister, Archaeologia Cambrensis, 7th Series Vol 2, (1922)
P. Murrieta-Flores & H. Williams, Placing the Pillar of Eliseg: Movement, Visibility & Memory in the Early Medieval Landscape, Medieval Archaeology 61, (2017)
V. E. Nash-Williams, The Early Christian Monuments of Wales, University of Wales Cardiff, (1950)
T. Pennant, Tours in Wales Vol II (1781), ed. J.Rhys, Caernarvon (1883)
J. Rhys, All around the Wrekin, Y Cymmrodor Vol. 21, (1908)
RCAHM, An Inventory of the Ancient Monuments in Wales and Monmouthshire: IV Denbigh, London, (1914)
W. T. Simpson, History of Llangollen and its Vicinity, Llangollen (1853)
J. O. Westwood, Lapidarium Walliae, The Early Inscribed and Sculptured Stones of Wales, Oxford, (1876-79)
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J. Aubrey, Monumenta Britannica, (1682), Bodleian Library Online
Y Bywgraffiadur Cymreig - Robert Vaughan
The Llangollen Advertiser, November 11th 1887
Society of Antiquaries ~ Minutes 20th May 1773
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