The next item on our agenda this afternoon is the short debate, and I now call on David Melding to speak on the topic he has chosen.

A visual presentation was shown to accompany the debate.

Deputy Presiding Officer, I'm unaccustomed to such a warm welcome. In the last 24 hours or so we've discussed the budget, we've discussed Brexit and we've just been discussing the Welsh Government's record, but now we have a calm interlude, and I want to turn to the Neolithic in the story of Wales—

An Assembly Member: You're surrounded by them. [Laughter.]

Boom boom. [Laughter.]

There were great achievements in the Neolithic, as you're about to discover. In north-west Europe, where we find ourselves, the Neolithic ran from about 4,500 BC to 1,700 BC, although exactitude in these matters is not particularly helpful. No-one woke up one day and said, 'Ah, the Neolithic is over and the Bronze Age has begun', but we do like to use these categories. But what marks out the Neolithic period above all is farming and settlements. But there were other great achievements too: pottery, statuettes, figurative art, decorations such as spirals, chevrons and lozenges, pictograms, ideograms, axes and even rudimentary food preservation. It was a time of remarkable technological invention and discovery.

Now, all of the sites that I will refer to in my short debate appear on the rolling photo presentation that is now playing on the screen. I want to start with Tinkinswood in the Vale of Glamorgan. It is one of my favourite places. I've walked there and spent time there, read poetry there, discussed eruditely, I hope, with some Members in this Chamber, indeed, whilst pondering and looking at that monument. It does remind me, anyway, of the amazing achievements of our ancestors in prehistory. I believe it is really important that we respect and celebrate these achievements.

I'd like now to turn to John Davies, and what he says about Tinkinswood in what I think remains a mesmerising history, A History of Wales—surely the greatest one-volume history yet written, and we have some really magnificent one-volume histories of Wales, going back to David Williams. But John Davies starts that work with a chapter titled, 'The Beginnings: Paviland, Tinkinswood and Llyn Cerrig Bach', and I think it's absolutely the right context to set. Tinkinswood demonstrates the growing mastery over environment that is really the mark of the Neolithic, and just think: the capstone on that monument would have required 200 men to put it in place—just remarkable organisation. And it was built after much of the woodland in the Vale of Glamorgan had been cleared away by the new technology—the new axes. Because after the end of the Ice Age, we had a period of thick temperate forests over most of Wales, and much of that was cleared, then, to make way for farming. And activity in this part of Wales was heavily influenced by the culture of Brittany, and I now quote from John Davies:

'This is an aspect of the "personality" of Wales which can be overlooked if the country is seen as no more than part of the Highland Zone of Britain. Eastwards, Wales faces the lowlands of England, but it also faces the western waters, with their network of sea-routes. People and influences came from the one direction and the other, and the interplay between what came by land and what came by sea is one of the most fascinating of the themes of the early history of Wales.'

And I completely agree. In June 2017, when Welsh Water carried out upgrades on a site at Llanfaethlu, archaeologists working on behalf of Welsh Water found evidence of prehistoric activity dating back around 4,000 to 6,000 years. Amongst the findings were flint tools. Silica-rich flint can be fashioned into a variety of tools, for example the knives and axes that I've been talking about. This site also contained burnt food, such as hazelnuts and other seeds, which will enable experts to radiocarbon the site and reconstruct the Neolithic diet.

Additionally, on Anglesey, one can find the mound in the dark grove, known as Bryn Celli Ddu, and Cadw says of this monument that it seems to have begun in the later Neolithic period, around 5,000 years ago, as a ritual enclosure. Cadw also notes that later in the Neolithic period, the henge made way for a passage tomb—a monument often found around the Irish seaboard and as far afield as Brittany. The real magnificence of this tomb is that it has been built with such accuracy that it is perfectly aligned to coincide with the rising sun on the summer solstice. The sun penetrates down into the inner burial chamber. Excavations there have led to 10 examples of rock carvings being found, as well as pottery and flint tools. Amazingly, the history of the site goes back even further as post holes found in the henge have been carbon-dated back to the Mesolithic period. And it just shows you that we're discovering constantly new insights into these sites and discovering others.

Another site of particular interest to me is the hillfort at Caerau, Cardiff. This was a major power centre for the region of Cardiff prior to the Roman invasion, and a major centre for many thousands of years. A six-year-old uncovered pottery and arrowheads there, and it emerged that Caerau was the home of a powerful community from at least 3,600 BC. Other arrowheads have been found that were broken, presumably from impact, and other weapons were found, indicating that a battle took place there some 5,000 years ago of great significance. And this is activity that goes back much earlier than we previously thought. And it just amazes me—a child out there suddenly finding these remarkable discoveries and then having the wit to ask about them and then them being identified by the various experts. This is, I think, what's wonderful about that particular project, which I'll talk a little bit about in a moment, again demonstrating that with constant discoveries, we are led to new interpretations of these sites, which is why they are so precious. CAER—Caerau and Ely rediscovering; the heritage project there—consists of archaeologists from Cardiff University along with Ely and Caerau Communities First. They aim to explore the history and archaeology of the Cardiff suburbs of Caerau and Ely, from prehistory through to the modern day, helping to connect communities with their heritage and develop educational opportunities. Their website notes that before the advent of the Roman invasion, Caerau hillfort was the major power centre for the entire Cardiff region, and is one of the largest and most impressive hillforts in south-east Wales. During the medieval period, a ringwork and church—St Mary's—were built within the ancient Iron Age boundaries, and their impressive remains can still be seen today, showing the remarkable continuity of that particular site. Again, I think that's another precious aspect of these monuments. 

Oliver Davis, who has worked on the project, said that:

'The location and number of Neolithic finds indicate that we have discovered a causewayed enclosure—a special place where small communities gathered together at certain important times of the year to celebrate, feast, exchange things and possibly find marriage partners'.

It was a key social development of the neolithic. Such sites, incidentally, are very rare in Wales, with only five other known examples, mostly in the south as it happens. 

In June this year, Cardiff University's Live Local Learn Local programme, in conjunction with the CAER Heritage Project, launched a six-week course, 'Hidden histories of Caerau and Ely', which delivers free accredited courses in communities facing social and economic challenges. What a wonderful idea that is. Five members of the community, along with several participants from further afield, took part in the course, and had a rare opportunity to visit the vaults of the National Museum of Wales to get valuable training in designing and executing museum exhibitions.

Deputy Presiding Officer, can I just say in conclusion that I welcome the Historic Environment (Wales) Act 2016, which this Government brought before us and enacted? I think it's really important that we see with the removal of the defence of ignorance of a monument or its location a way of establishing the responsibilities that property owners have when these monuments are discovered or, obviously, when they are looked after. There are so many—we are so rich in neolithic heritage that we must ensure that we preserve it as fully as possible, because we are reinterpreting, there'll be new discoveries in future generations, no doubt, and, with aerial photography becoming ever more sophisticated, down to the use of drones, we're discovering constantly new sites. There's one on the display of the earthwork that you can see from great height, but not from ground level. We also need to improve the awareness and public understanding of neolithic monuments, and I think the Caerau project is really important in this regard.  

Deputy Presiding Officer, can I just conclude by saying that the neolithic should be properly honoured, because it has a most special place in the story of Wales? Thank you.  

Thank you. Can I now call on the Minister for Culture, Tourism and Sport to reply to the debate—Dafydd Elis-Thomas? 

Thank you very much for the opportunity, Deputy Presiding Officer, to respond to this extraordinary and unexpected debate. One of the advantages of this place, the Senedd of Wales, is that we can discuss, as the legislation that established us states, any matters that affect Wales. But I think that this is the first time for me to hear a debate, the first time for me to take part in a short debate, talking about the past that can be called prehistory. This is a word I have some problems with, because I would argue, philosophically, that, if we can talk about prehistory, then it has to exist and therefore it is, in some sense, historic, but we’ll leave that to the philosophers.

I had an opportunity last month to outline the priorities that we have in the department for the historic environment of Wales, and the emphasis in those priorities is on displaying and demonstrating that Wales arose as a modern nation from a cultural heritage with common elements over thousands of years. And so the Member is safe in saying that we started in the depths of prehistory. In fact, long before the Neolithic period, as that is dated, and what David described as the dawn of agriculture and settlement, we can pursue the story of the nation that is now called Wales back to the last Ice Age at least, and the earliest human traces found, in quotation marks, of a 'Welsh person' in Pontnewydd cave almost 0.25 million years ago. So, prehistory is a matter of great interest to the Welsh Government, and I would like to emphasise what the different elements are of the heritage that we have tried to safeguard over the period that I have been responsible for this portfolio—just over a year.

Our central priority is to care for our historic environment through promoting its enjoyment and enjoyment of it. And it's important that we can understand, as far as we can, the past that we're talking about so that we can appeal to people in the present day and in future.

Now, the findings that have been made in these early periods in Wales are findings that are of international significance, in Paviland cave in the Gower, for example. And the history of construction of burial chambers—. These have been created, as David mentioned, referring to Tinkinswood—to Llech-y-filiast, or whatever we want to call it—in that area, an incredible place. These are notable buildings in the landscape. The Bronze Age saw thousands of these burial mounds spread across the landscape of Wales, with valuable items buried in them. The Mold cape is perhaps the most famous of them. The Iron Age saw further changes—the development of hill-fort communities and the hundreds of traces that exist across Wales, such as in Tre'r Ceiri.

For me, the institutions that have interpreted these sites, particularly the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historic Monuments of Wales, which have recorded numerous new sites very recently during the dry summer, where traces were found in the rural landscape so that the prehistory came alive anew, as it were, because of the weather that we experienced at that time—. In those events, we have seen, through the work of the commission and through the extraordinary work that has been done, the way that there are interesting clusters of these prehistoric sites across our nation. One of the most notable, of course, is the clusters on Anglesey, and I wouldn't want to leave Anglesey out of any discussion of prehistory. The prehistoric monuments on Anglesey can rightly take their place with the Boyne Valley in Ireland, with Stonehenge in England. Indeed, these are amongst the most extraordinary sites in the British Isles and in Ireland. And there are sites under the care of Cadw, including the Neolithic burial chambers in Bryn Celli Ddu and Barclodiad y Gawres, which is not far away.

Cadw is also responsible for Neolithic burial chambers in the north of Pembrokeshire, including Pentre Ifan, and, in Glamorgan—as I've already talked about, as has the Member—Tinkinswood near St Nicholas, where I had an opportunity to spend a great deal of time with my family in that area, and I had the extraordinary experience of trying to explain prehistory to young children. So, it is important to emphasise that, in the contemporary provision of Cadw and the Government's work, we do appreciate this inheritance and legacy and we do strive to safeguard it.

I want to pay tribute to the archaeological trusts in Wales, which have visited and assessed every prehistoric site that we're aware of, and there are 23,000 such sites. And the whole host of information that has emanated from this are records that have legal status in the Historic Environment (Wales) Act of 2016. We are implementing the Act at the moment through the specific provision that has been made in giving direction for how to implement the Act, and we will be continuing to monitor that and will review it formally, indeed, in years to come.

Cadw also produces online maps, Cof Cymru, which include the location and description of every prehistoric site that has been safeguarded in Wales. This information is available, and it’s possible to access it, and the first-ever technical advice note for the historic environment was published as recently as last year.

Now, this work is ongoing, and the promotion work continues to be important. For this reason, I’ve brought a gift for the Member, which is a bilingual description for pupils of Llyn Cerrig Bach, Barclodiad y Gawres and Bryn Celli Ddu. As all Members can see, there are wonderful illustrations that reinforce and recreate the Neolithic and pre-Neolithic periods, but don't ask me to go through them, but they are historically accurate. We are trying to generate enthusiasm amongst the next generation in the long tradition that we are part of, and I’d like to not just thank the trusts, but also the national museum for their part. The extraordinary developments at St Fagans over the past two years have brought us to a situation where they have now re-opened officially, and the new galleries give a clear, explicit status to the prehistoric objects from all parts of Wales. You can’t go into any of the museums buildings without realising that the history of Wales is a long-running one and one that we should all respect. And I’m very grateful, once again, to discuss such an issue during a debate at the Assembly. Thank you.

Thank you. Item 8 on our agenda this afternoon is voting time. Unless three Members wish for the bell to be rung, I intend to proceed to that voting time. [Interruption.] Can three Members show that they want the bell rung? Okay, we'll ring the bell. Thank you. 

The bell was rung to call Members to the Chamber.