Cymraeg - English

Our Skeleton - Madrun

Portrait

Seren Morgan Jones was commissioned to bring 'Madrun the skeleton' into a visual concept. By considering the archaeological information, this portrait was created to speculate how she would have possibly looked.

Originally from Aberystwyth, she graduated from University of the Arts London in 2009. To see more of her work, go to https://serenmorganjones.carbonmade.com/

Funding

This project was funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Garfield Weston Foundation.

Summary of Archaeological Report

• It was a cist grave, stone-lined, characteristic of the early medieval period, that was discovered. But the grave was dated to the period between 1165 and 1270, making it a very late example of this type of grave. “One cannot help but wonder why the return to a much earlier mode of burial is adopted in this instance as it is clearly a conscious decision to bury the individual in this way”.


• There were three stones on the grave, with two of them quartz stones, a pre-Christian tradition. “It is considered that these stones were carefully selected and deliberately placed here as part of a form of grave decoration or ritual practice”.


• The grave was found 0.50 meters under ground level.


• The skeleton of a female in her fifties was in the grave, and it is estimated that she was around 154cm in height. It was discovered that she had not been eating seafood, but instead food from the land.


• The head of the woman was placed at the Westerly end of the grave, which is characteristic of a Christian burial.


• There was no clear signs of poor health, only an injury to he leg that could be associated with physical work but this link is not certain.
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Naming 'Madrun'

After the public had been voting for their favourite name for the skeleton out of Angharad, Dyddgu, Ethi, Gweirful, Gwenhwyfar, Gwladys, Hawys, Madrun, Nêst, Rhianon, Senena and Tangwystl, 'Madrun' was the one who received the most votes. The two pupils who won prizes for choosing that name were Guto Bryn Williams and Mabon Arwel Williams.

Official Opening

On October 30th 2021, the Museum's new exhibition was launched, about the skeleton found under the walls of the Church, given the name 'Madrun'. Many people who had been associated with the project from the beginning came to see the finished exhibition for the first time.

Reconstruction of the grave