Paper short abstract:

The uplands of South Wales played a central role in the subsistence of the Iron Age Silures. Along with this, the natural landscape may have brought about a spiritual connection that led to the upland area gaining a symbolic power within the culture of the Silures.

Paper long abstract:

South Wales during the Iron Age was mostly occupied along the lowland coastal regions. The tribe of the area, the Silures, may have limited their upland occupation due to a sacred connection with the area. Using a phenomenological approach, the upland area of South Wales can be seen as providing socio-economic, cultural, and even spiritual aspects to the native lifestyle.

Limestone in the area may have become symbolic through the natural interaction with water apparent at caves, caverns and sinkholes. As well, an economic connection can be found in its use in Silurian Lydney-Llanmelin ware pottery. A ridge from Risca to Pontypool in the south-east has been viewed as a reclining female figure with a head, breast, and body. Similar connections to landscape have been found in County Kerry, Ireland, and South Dakota, USA. Most importantly, the agro-pastoral subsistence of the Silures relied heavily upon the uplands for their resources. This creates a close connection to the land that, when coupled with the limestone and reclining female, can inevitably lead to strong spiritual reverence.

The natural landscape of South Wales and the resources provided to the Silures from the exploitation of limestone and an agro-pastoral subsistence may have created a spiritual connection over time that resulted in a reverence for the uplands.