Various artefacts originally found in or culturally important to Wales, are housed in museums outside the country, namely in England and France. Their housing outside of Wales has been controversial to some in Wales, calling for some artefacts to be repatriated (returned) back to Wales, while others argue Wales lacks the necessary museums and security for the artefacts to be housed in Wales safely.
Local politicians including two Delyn Assembly Members, Alison Halford, [1] [2] and Hannah Blythyn, [3] Denbighshire councillor Mabon ap Gwynfor, [4] former librarian of the National Library of Wales Andrew Green, [5] [6] the Celtic League and Plaid Cymru Westminster leader Elfyn Llwyd have called for the Mold gold cape to be repatriated back to Wales. [7] [8] It is currently housed in the British Museum in London, England. [9] Halford stated in 2002 that a legitimate claim for the artefact could have been made if there were a suitable museum in north Wales which would address any security concerns. [1] [2] The artefact was temporaily returned to Wales on loan in 2013, with local tourism chair expressing his disappointment with being unable to have it permanently return, and hopeful a new local museum can house it in the future. [10]
A two-century campaign has been calling for the Red Lady of Paviland to be repatriated to Wales. [11] The artefact (which are actually of a man) was discovered in 1823 by William Buckland, geology professor at Oxford University, and it was quickly transported to Oxford thereafter (some other artefacts were later repatriated). [11] [12] Swansea councillor Ioan Richard in 2004, started a campaign for its repatriation. [13] In 2006, the artefact was announced it would be temporarily loaned to the National Museum of Wales. [14] Former chairman of the Welsh Conservatives, Byron Davies also called for the artefact to "come home" in 2013, and called for a bid to be put together for repatriation, [15] repeating his commitment in 2023, although said there were safety and expense concerns. [11] Liverpool professor George Nash, while questioning mysticism over the artefact stated as it is important to Welsh history, returning it would "be the right thing to do". [11] In January 2023, it was nicknamed the Welsh Elgin Marbles , after the Greek artefact facing similar calls. It is currently on display in the University of Oxford’s Museum of Natural History, and is described to be "well cared for". [12] [16] [17]
In May 2023, local campaigner and writer, Mathew Smith called for the oldest ceremonially buried skeleton in Western Europe to be brought back, "This is something for Swansea , it's something for south Wales. The Red Lady should come back here. Oxford have done a fantastic job for the past two-hundreds years, but now in the twenty-first century, it really is time to change things." [18]
Welsh pressure group Cyfeillion Llyn (Friends of Llyn) have called for the return of the Bardsey (Enlli) crown, discovered on Bardsey Island. The group want the crown to be moved to Oriel Plas Glyn-y-Weddw, in Llanbedrog. [19] [20] It is currently held in National Museums Liverpool,[ which? ] in Liverpool, England.[ citation needed ]
The 14th century book, "Laws of Hywel Dda" (also known as the "Boston Manuscript"), was owned by the Massachusetts Historical Society of Boston and held in the USA until it was put up for sale by auction in 2012. The National Library of Wales was able to buy it at Sotheby's for £541,250, with help from the Heritage Lottery Fund, Friends of the National Libraries and the Welsh Government. [26] It was then returned to Wales and put on display in Aberystwyth in Summer 2012 before being digitised for wider access. [26] The book was a record of the 10th century laws of Hywel Dda, King of Deheubarth.
There have been calls to repatriate [27] the Pennal Letter sent to the king of France by Owain Glyndŵr in 1406, as it is currently housed in the French National Library in Paris, France. In 1999, 28 members signed an early day motion to the House of Commons, calling for the letter and seal to be repatriated because of its "great historical significance in Wales as rare treasures of Welsh history". Politicians such as Paul Flynn, Alun Michael and Ron Davies supported the motion. [28] The letter was displayed in a National Library of Wales exhibition in 2000. [29] Welsh singer Gwilym Bowen Rhys made similar calls in 2022. [30]
There have been calls in Welsh media to return some of the more significant artefacts which were discovered in Wales. These include artefacts from the British Museum, such as the Rhyd-y-gors shield, Moel Hebog shield and Welsh buckler shields. There are also calls to return the Mold Cape (currently housed in London), Llanllyfni lunula, the Trawsfynydd Tankard (in Liverpool), Red Book of Hergest (in Oxford) and the Red Lady of Paviland (in Oxford), Bardsey crown (in Liverpool), and Owain Glyndŵr's Pennal Letter (in Paris, France) to a museum in Wales. [31] [32]
Historian John Davies noted that "Our treasures are vital to us as a nation and draw people together. They help people imagine the period, and shape how people feel about their area", but "sometimes the expertise is not here in Wales so we have to ask how to deal with that if the treasures come home". [32]
In 2011, it was stated by Linda Tomos, the Director of CyMAL: Museums Archives and Libraries Wales, in response to a query from the Celtic League on the Rhayader Treasure, that the calling for the return of artefacts was not part of the Welsh Government's strategy at the time. [33]
Following reports some artefacts were stolen from the British Museum in August 2023, Plaid Cymru MP Liz Saville Roberts and MS Heledd Fychan, repeated calls for repatriation from the British Museum. They stated that the museum's argument that it is the most secure location, no longer holds, [34] and that the National Museum of Wales Cardiff is a more safe location for artefacts such as the Mold Gold Cape and the Rhos Rydd Shield. Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales stated that repatriation issues should be treated separately from security concerns. The National Museum does not explicitly call for the return of artefacts, but stated they should be more accessible and appeciated by Welsh communities. Many artefacts were transferred to the British Museum before the establishment of Wales' national museum. [35] [36]
Owain ap Gruffydd, commonly known as Owain Glyndŵr or Glyn Dŵr, was a Welsh leader, soldier and military commander in the Late Middle Ages, who led a 15-year-long revolt with the aim of ending English rule in Wales. He was an educated lawyer, forming the first Welsh parliament under his rule, and was the last native-born Welshman to hold the title Prince of Wales.
Prince of Wales is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the English and, later, British thrones. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Gwynedd who, from the late 12th century, used it to assert their supremacy over the other Welsh rulers. However, to mark the finalisation of his conquest of Wales, in 1301, Edward I of England, invested his son Edward of Caernarfon with the title, thereby beginning the tradition of giving the title to the heir apparent when he was the monarch's son or grandson. The title was later claimed by the leader of a Welsh rebellion, Owain Glyndŵr, from 1400 until 1415.
Princess of Wales is a courtesy title used since the 14th century by the wife of the Prince of Wales, a title reserved for the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Female heirs to the throne have not formally held the title. The current title-holder is Catherine.
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the southwest and the Bristol Channel to the south. As of the 2021 census, it had a population of 3,107,494. It has a total area of 21,218 km2 (8,192 sq mi) and over 1,680 miles (2,700 km) of coastline. It is largely mountainous with its higher peaks in the north and central areas, including Snowdon, its highest summit. The country lies within the north temperate zone and has a changeable, maritime climate. The capital and largest city is Cardiff.
The Red "Lady" of Paviland is an Upper Paleolithic partial male skeleton dyed in red ochre and buried in Wales 33,000 BP. The bones were discovered in 1823 by William Buckland in an archaeological dig at Goat's Hole Cave which is a limestone cave between Port Eynon and Rhossili on the Gower Peninsula, near Swansea in south Wales. Buckland believed the skeleton was a Roman era female. Later, William Solace examined Goat's Cave Paviland in 1912. There, Solace found flint arrow heads and tools and correctly concluded that the skeleton was in fact a male hunter-gatherer or warrior during the last Ice Age. Over the last 100 years, more advanced dating procedures have shifted the age from the Mesolithic period to the Palaeolithic era of the last Ice Age.
The flag of Wales consists of a red dragon passant on a green and white field. As with many heraldic charges, the exact representation of the dragon is not standardised and many renderings exist. It is not represented in the Union Flag.
Welsh nationalism emphasises and celebrates the distinctiveness of Welsh culture and Wales as a nation or country. Welsh nationalism may also include calls for further autonomy or self-determination, which includes Welsh devolution, meaning increased powers for the Senedd, or full Welsh independence.
The Welsh Dragon is a heraldic symbol that represents Wales and appears on the national flag of Wales.
Meibion Glyndŵr was a protest group linked to arson of English-owned holiday homes in Wales. They were formed in response to the housing crisis in Wales precipitated by large numbers of houses being bought by wealthy English people for use as holiday homes, pushing up house prices beyond the means of many locals. They were responsible for setting fire to English-owned holiday homes in Wales from 1979 to the mid-1990s.
Llywelyn's coronet is a lost treasure of Welsh history. It is recorded that Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, Prince of Wales and Lord of Aberffraw had deposited this crown and other items with the monks at Cymer Abbey for safekeeping at the start of his final campaign in 1282. He was killed later that year. It was seized alongside other holy artefacts in 1284 from the ruins of the defeated Kingdom of Gwynedd. Thereafter it was taken to London and presented at the shrine of Edward the Confessor in Westminster Abbey by King Edward I of England as a token of the complete annihilation of the independent Welsh state.
Repatriation is the return of the cultural property, often referring to ancient or looted art, to their country of origin or former owners.
The Mold gold cape is a ceremonial cape of solid sheet-gold from Wales dating from about 1900–1600 BCE in the British Bronze Age. It was found at Bryn yr Ellyllon burial mound near Mold, Flintshire in 1833.
Various traditions are practiced on certain days of the year in Wales both currently and historically, including festivities originating in Welsh, Celtic, English and Christian cultures.
The Welsh Seal is a seal used by the First Minister of Wales to seal letters patent signed by the monarch giving royal assent to bills passed by the Senedd. The sealed bill is thereby enacted, becoming an Act of Senedd Cymru.
The Pennal Letter was a historical letter by Owain Glyndŵr to Charles VI, King of France. Owain composed the letter in Latin, in Pennal, in the north of Wales, in 1406, and set out his vision of an independent Wales.
Owain Glyndŵr Day is held annually on 16 September in Wales, as a celebration of Owain Glyndŵr, the last native Prince of Wales and founder of the first Welsh parliament.
Gruffydd Aled Williams FLSW is a scholar who specialises in Welsh medieval poetry and Renaissance literature. He was brought up in Dinmael, Denbighshire, and Glyndyfrdwy in the former county of Merioneth. Educated at Glyndyfrdwy Primary School, Llangollen Grammar School and the University College of North Wales, Bangor, he graduated in Welsh in 1964. From 1965 to 1970 he was Assistant Lecturer in Welsh at University College, Dublin, and from 1970 he was Lecturer, Senior Lecturer (1984) and Reader (1991) in the Department of Welsh at the University of Wales, Bangor. In 1995 he was appointed Professor of Welsh and Head of the Department of Welsh at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth, a post he held until his retirement in 2008. He is now an Emeritus Professor of the university.
The archaeology of Wales is the study of human occupation within the country of Wales which has been occupied by modern humans since 225,000 BCE, with continuous occupation from 9,000 BCE. Analysis of the sites, artefacts and other archaeological data within Wales details its complex social landscape and evolution from Prehistoric times to the Industrial period. This study is undertaken by academic institutions, consultancies, charities as well as government organisations.
The Rhos-Rydd Shield, or Rhyd y Gors is a large copper-alloy Yetholm-type shield from the Bronze Age, found in Rhos-Rydd or Rhyd y Gors, near Blaenplwyf, Wales. It is currently held in the British Museum in London. It is completely flat, 667 mm across, and 0.7 mm thick, weighing 1929 grams. It dates from the 12th to the 10th century BC.
The Moel Hebog shield or Moel Siabod shield is a large copper-alloy Yetholm-type shield from Bronze Age Britain, found in Wales in 1784, and now in the British Museum in London. It dates from 1300–1000 BC.
