Origins and Early Christian Monuments

Our Early Christian Monuments (ECMs) are stones that can tell us about individuals, their beliefs, burial practices, languages, art and technology from the past. Some of them are huge and very heavy which makes them difficult to move and install. We were helped by Nigel Brake from Penybryn Engineering and Chris Perry from our Industry Department. You can also see Dr. Mark Redknap (Medievalist) from our Archaeology Department helping with the ECMs and ensuring their safety as they are being installed. It's nice to see people are willing to get stuck in and help!

An 'A' frame is used to raise and lower the ECMs. This is the frame from which the winch is hung to support the ECM and lift it up. The ECMs have got inscriptions on them from Early Medieval times that we can't scratch or damage so great care must be taken over moving them. Special steel supports have been made for the larger stones allowing them to be held firmly in place.