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BBC History Team Solves Riddle Of Llywelyn
The Telegraph (UK) ^ | 1-31-2006 | Ben Fenton

Posted on 02/05/2006 3:21:23 PM PST by blam

BBC history team solves riddle of Llywelyn

By Ben Fenton
(Filed: 31/01/2006)

One of the last great mysteries of the history of the independent Welsh nation was apparently solved yesterday by a group of English historians working for the BBC.

For centuries, people living in and around the chicken farm called Pen y Bryn on top of a hill overlooking the Menai Straits in Caernarvonshire have been convinced that it is a royal place.

More than that, they all firmly believed that the 36-acre farm was the last remnant of the palace of Llywelyn, the first and last prince of a "free" Wales, who died in 1282.

But Cadw, the Welsh equivalent of English Heritage, says it has found traces of a medieval house about 400 yards away, near to a Norman motte, or defensive mound, that is the real site of the palace.

Today, even the current prince has become intrigued in developments after Kathryn Gibson, the owner of Pen y Bryn, tried to convince him to accept that he is the 22nd, not the 21st Prince of Wales.

"We had all the local tradition that this was the palace site, but what we were lacking was the last documentary proof that this was the case," Mrs Gibson said yesterday after the broadcast of the programme on BBC2's History Mysteries series. "But thanks to Nick Barratt and his colleagues, we now have that."

Mr Barratt, who is The Daily Telegraph's "Family Detective" found the crucial evidence in archives at Bangor, a few miles from the site. A document dating to 1284 stated clearly that there was a "Ty Hir" or long house, at the centre of the manor of Aber, previously known as Aber Garth Celyn.

It was from there that Llywelyn was known to have written his last letter of defiance to the English. But the site near the motte was not a long house, but an H-shaped dwelling which the historians believe was an administrative centre for the infant Welsh court, but not the prince's home.

Investigations showed that the chicken farm, which has a tower attached to it tentatively, is built on the ruins of a long house. On another document, dating from the 1730s, the manor house at the centre of the lands of Aber is clearly identified as Pen y Bryn.

Mr Barratt said: "It shows that Llywelyn had two separate buildings, one domestic, one business, and that the Welsh court was much more sophisticated than English historians have portrayed it to be."

Mrs Gibson is hoping that the programme will be seeen by Prince Charles, whom she met a few years ago. "I told him that he ought to acknowledge that Edward I's son was not the first Prince of Wales and that he is the 22nd, not the 21st person to hold that title."


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: bbc; chickenfarm; godsgravesglyphs; history; llywelyn; riddle; sloves; team; wales
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To: blam

Brits out! Up the WRA! Our day will come!


21 posted on 02/05/2006 10:00:55 PM PST by jordan8
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To: jordan8
Brits out!

Remember the Welsh ARE the original BRITons. I guess you mean 'Anglo-Saxons out!'

22 posted on 02/05/2006 10:13:23 PM PST by Lucius Cornelius Sulla
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To: blam; SunkenCiv

This has absolutely nothing to do with the topic at hand, but I wanted you to look at this skeleton and tell me what you think it is. If it's a dog, it's a strange, fearsome dog, like something Stephen King dreamed up. Any ideas?

http://www.angelfire.com/ok5/kiamichibigfoot/photopage9.html

(Warning: Angelfire page, so there will be annoyihng popups)


23 posted on 02/06/2006 5:12:47 AM PST by Renfield (If Gene Tracy was the entertainment at your senior prom, YOU might be a redneck...)
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To: Renfield
Any ideas?

Some kind of Bobcat ?

24 posted on 02/06/2006 5:23:29 AM PST by dread78645 (Intelligent Design. It causes people to misspeak)
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To: dread78645

No, this thing is definitely canine, but its incisors are more prominent, and it is much broader across the muzzle, than is normal for dogs.


25 posted on 02/06/2006 5:45:56 AM PST by Renfield (If Gene Tracy was the entertainment at your senior prom, YOU might be a redneck...)
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To: T. P. Pole
" You forgot the throat-clearing at the start of the word."

I did spit on the screen though....

26 posted on 02/06/2006 11:54:22 AM PST by Mark Felton ("Your faith should not be in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.")
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To: blam

But for Charles to admit that he's the 22nd, not the 21st, would be to accept that his ancestor wasn't the first to take a leek in Wales.


27 posted on 02/06/2006 12:51:36 PM PST by Vicomte13 (Et alors?)
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To: Vicomte13

[rimshot!]


28 posted on 02/06/2006 8:42:37 PM PST by SunkenCiv (Islam is medieval fascism, and the Koran is a medieval Mein Kampf.)
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To: Renfield

Kiamichi? Ah, it's in Oklahoma. The profile looks like a dog, but if this isn't just a hoax photograph, it could also be the Thylacine.

Oh, I'm just makin' my own fun now...

http://137.222.110.150/calnet/dogskull/dogskull.htm

http://www.amonline.net.au/thylacine/08.htm


29 posted on 02/06/2006 8:54:41 PM PST by SunkenCiv (Islam is medieval fascism, and the Koran is a medieval Mein Kampf.)
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To: blam

"Keep digging, boys! Somewhere down there there's a giant chest full of vowels..."


30 posted on 02/06/2006 8:59:13 PM PST by Billthedrill
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To: Renfield

But seriously... There have been reports (widely disbelieved) of out of place animals in the Americas (and elsewhere, but we're talkin' US here), such as kangaroos; Loren Coleman has a website plus a few books on the topic. :')


31 posted on 02/06/2006 9:00:53 PM PST by SunkenCiv (Islam is medieval fascism, and the Koran is a medieval Mein Kampf.)
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To: Renfield; dread78645; blam

Check for the FR topic(s) on the Dixie Dingo as well.


32 posted on 02/06/2006 9:02:13 PM PST by SunkenCiv (Islam is medieval fascism, and the Koran is a medieval Mein Kampf.)
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To: Renfield
"I wanted you to look at this skeleton and tell me what you think it is. If it's a dog, it's a strange, fearsome dog, like something Stephen King dreamed up. Any ideas?"

Sorry, no idea what it is. Here's a link to the Dixie Dingo SunkenCiv mentioned.

The Dixie Dingo


33 posted on 02/06/2006 9:18:50 PM PST by blam
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To: Billthedrill

I used to have a pickup with a bumper sticker on it:

Support the VFW: Vowels for Wales


34 posted on 02/06/2006 9:23:20 PM PST by decal (Too many people mistake "tolerance" for "approval")
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To: Dave Elias

"Like thlew-ellen with the first syllable like you are spitting."

The "th" part of it is supposed to emanate from the side of the tongue, not the front, with no extra effort to make the "l" sound.

Or so I've read...

http://www.panix.com/~gabriel/public-bin/showfinal.cgi/2567.txt


35 posted on 02/06/2006 9:27:20 PM PST by decal (Too many people mistake "tolerance" for "approval")
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To: blam
Shazammmmmmmmmm!
36 posted on 02/06/2006 9:28:47 PM PST by Bender2 (Stop doodling around... Read the first three chapters of my Science Fiction novel.)
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To: Renfield

Spikes on the spine?
Those are normal tendon/muscle ancorages.

http://loudoun.nv.cc.va.us/vetonline/vet111/Anatomy/dog_skeleton.jpg

It really looks like a dog dude. The skull points to a weird breed. So what, poodles have weird skeletons too.
It does not have the skull of a thylacine or wolf.


37 posted on 02/13/2006 3:44:11 AM PST by S0122017
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To: S0122017

Actually on second look..
http://www.lioncrusher.com/animal.asp?animal=35&page=2

.. it looks a little like a wolf skull afterall.
But all dog skulls do.


38 posted on 02/13/2006 3:47:13 AM PST by S0122017
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To: blam
They found this guy...

Don't take matters into your own hands...you take 'em to court.

39 posted on 02/13/2006 4:03:51 AM PST by AndrewB
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To: S0122017

"...Spikes on the spine?
Those are normal tendon/muscle ancorages...."

I know. It was just the odd muzzle which had me puzzled. This was one ugly dog.


40 posted on 02/13/2006 4:20:05 AM PST by Renfield (If Gene Tracy was the entertainment at your senior prom, YOU might be a redneck...)
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