Published Sep 12th, 2020, 9/12/20 3:00 am
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This map was created in Minecraft version 1.15.2
The resource pack used is a custom my team I are working on for our upcoming server, AngloCraft
You can download it here: [AngloCraft v13.21]
Hello all! This is a little project I've been doing on the side while I work on AngloCraft. I've been reading Britain after Rome by Robin Fleming. She reviews a lot of archaeological excavations and her short chapter about the the Royal Complex on a Crannóg in Llangorse lake in southern Wales strangely captivated me. I wanted immediately to build it in Minecraft. So I found a nice reference picture (seen below) and I did just that. This is a to scale reproduction of the royal complex and its nearby land. I took the liberty of making the island quite a bit bigger than it is today because I feel like erosion must have taken its toll since then and it is much too small today to accommodate much of anything. Even still, it seems small for a royal complex so I put some tents on the shore to indicate an overflow of lower status court followers. I also added a small farming hamlet, probably the domain of a single family, in the woods on the mainland, complete with some fallow fields.
For those of you who are interested in reading a brief history of this place, click the spoiler below.
Since the 8th century the Welsh Kings of Brycheiniog had controlled a territory centered on Llangorse lake. They founded and patronized a monastic community on its shores. In and around 889 A.D, Brycheiniog’s king, Elisedd ap Tewdwr, began to build a new residence in Llangorse lake. The new royal settlement took the form of a crannóg, an artificial island constructed from boulders, scrub, and timbers. It would have been joined to land by a long raised walkway. The island made a platform for a few domestic buildings and a great timber hall. Many powerful men in contemporary Ireland resided in crannógs but this seems to have been the first known in Wales. The kings of Brycheiniog traced their ancestry back to Ireland, so perhaps this was meant to underscore Elisedd’s Irish ancestry and set him apart from the other Welsh kingdoms. This was likely built with the know-how of Irish architects and the sweat of labor-owing locals, so it demonstrated the king’s ability to extract dues from his subjects and thus display his power. It was likely a royal residence, stayed in for a portion of the year by the royal family, their guards, their servants, and other court followers. Perhaps it was stayed in around religious holidays for close access to ceremonies at the monastery, perhaps around easter time.
A sleeve fragment of silk embroidered linen was found in the island’s excavation, so I included a small weaving workshop in the royal residence. A fragment of a house shaped reliquary and a copper book mount was found on the site as well, so I included a court priest’s house. Remains of hunting, feasting, and food renders were found on the site so I included two cowsheds, a butcher pit, and a tax storage building. Greyhound-like hunting dog bones were found on the site so I included a hunting dog house.
The Crannog may have served as an emergency retreat for the royal family. Vikings raided into Brycheiniog in 896 A.D and the sons of Rhodri the Great (king of Gwynedd) were then unifying Northern Wales under their rule and becoming a serious threat to the still independent kingdoms of the south. In 881 A.D. Elisedd allied with Alfred the Great of Wessex to oppose one of Rhodri’s sons who allied with the Vikings settled in York.
In 916, the complex came to a firey end. Elysedd’s son and successor was blamed for the murder a mercian abbot and in retaliation Llangorse Crannóg was burned and destroyed by Æthelflæd, Queen of Mercia.
Here are some more pictures:
Reference Pic
Imitation of the Reference Pic
Crannóg Entrance
King's Guard Quarters
Servant Quarters
Prince Quarters
Cowsheds
Kitchen
Butcher Pit
Butcher Pit
Royal Residence
King & Queen's Room
Tax Storage House
Tax Storage
Court Priest Quarters
Feasting Hall
Bird's Eye View
At Night
Tents for court followers on the shore
Tents for court followers
Bridge over the small river
Farming Village
Farming Village
Working hollow with oven
Chicken coops
Great village roundhouse interior
Village food pantry
The village and the crannóg
Cool angle
I really like how I did this shoreline, its very British looking
Woah
Like the sun, the fortunes of Brycheiniog will soon set forever
The resource pack used is a custom my team I are working on for our upcoming server, AngloCraft
You can download it here: [AngloCraft v13.21]
Hello all! This is a little project I've been doing on the side while I work on AngloCraft. I've been reading Britain after Rome by Robin Fleming. She reviews a lot of archaeological excavations and her short chapter about the the Royal Complex on a Crannóg in Llangorse lake in southern Wales strangely captivated me. I wanted immediately to build it in Minecraft. So I found a nice reference picture (seen below) and I did just that. This is a to scale reproduction of the royal complex and its nearby land. I took the liberty of making the island quite a bit bigger than it is today because I feel like erosion must have taken its toll since then and it is much too small today to accommodate much of anything. Even still, it seems small for a royal complex so I put some tents on the shore to indicate an overflow of lower status court followers. I also added a small farming hamlet, probably the domain of a single family, in the woods on the mainland, complete with some fallow fields.
For those of you who are interested in reading a brief history of this place, click the spoiler below.
Brief History of Llangorse Crannóg
Since the 8th century the Welsh Kings of Brycheiniog had controlled a territory centered on Llangorse lake. They founded and patronized a monastic community on its shores. In and around 889 A.D, Brycheiniog’s king, Elisedd ap Tewdwr, began to build a new residence in Llangorse lake. The new royal settlement took the form of a crannóg, an artificial island constructed from boulders, scrub, and timbers. It would have been joined to land by a long raised walkway. The island made a platform for a few domestic buildings and a great timber hall. Many powerful men in contemporary Ireland resided in crannógs but this seems to have been the first known in Wales. The kings of Brycheiniog traced their ancestry back to Ireland, so perhaps this was meant to underscore Elisedd’s Irish ancestry and set him apart from the other Welsh kingdoms. This was likely built with the know-how of Irish architects and the sweat of labor-owing locals, so it demonstrated the king’s ability to extract dues from his subjects and thus display his power. It was likely a royal residence, stayed in for a portion of the year by the royal family, their guards, their servants, and other court followers. Perhaps it was stayed in around religious holidays for close access to ceremonies at the monastery, perhaps around easter time.
A sleeve fragment of silk embroidered linen was found in the island’s excavation, so I included a small weaving workshop in the royal residence. A fragment of a house shaped reliquary and a copper book mount was found on the site as well, so I included a court priest’s house. Remains of hunting, feasting, and food renders were found on the site so I included two cowsheds, a butcher pit, and a tax storage building. Greyhound-like hunting dog bones were found on the site so I included a hunting dog house.
The Crannog may have served as an emergency retreat for the royal family. Vikings raided into Brycheiniog in 896 A.D and the sons of Rhodri the Great (king of Gwynedd) were then unifying Northern Wales under their rule and becoming a serious threat to the still independent kingdoms of the south. In 881 A.D. Elisedd allied with Alfred the Great of Wessex to oppose one of Rhodri’s sons who allied with the Vikings settled in York.
In 916, the complex came to a firey end. Elysedd’s son and successor was blamed for the murder a mercian abbot and in retaliation Llangorse Crannóg was burned and destroyed by Æthelflæd, Queen of Mercia.
Here are some more pictures:
Reference Pic
Imitation of the Reference Pic
Crannóg Entrance
King's Guard Quarters
Servant Quarters
Prince Quarters
Cowsheds
Kitchen
Butcher Pit
Butcher Pit
Royal Residence
King & Queen's Room
Tax Storage House
Tax Storage
Court Priest Quarters
Feasting Hall
Bird's Eye View
At Night
Tents for court followers on the shore
Tents for court followers
Bridge over the small river
Farming Village
Farming Village
Working hollow with oven
Chicken coops
Great village roundhouse interior
Village food pantry
The village and the crannóg
Cool angle
I really like how I did this shoreline, its very British looking
Woah
Like the sun, the fortunes of Brycheiniog will soon set forever
Credit | Additional Credit is given to ShudderShockBailiff who made many of the 3D models, who helped just a tad with some of the roofs, and who designed the Celtic roundhouse style I've used. Mr. Wizz's tree pack was used for some of the trees. |
Progress | 100% complete |
Tags |
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llangorse-crann-g-the-welsh-palace-complex-of-king-elisedd-ap-tewdwr-889-916-a-d
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