Monday, 21 February 2011

Beside the Sea (2): Shells at Llangennith

I mentioned in my previous post that I would add the shells we saw in a separate entry, so here they are. I saw them all as I walked along towards the high-tide island of Burry Holms at the north-western extremity of the Gower Peninsula.

You can just see Worm's Head, Rhossili, below the cloud in the centre.

Limpet, (Patella vulgata)
The Pink Cockle, I think


Slipper Limpet?

Rayed Trough-shell (Mactra stultorum), I think

Razor Shell, possibly an Eggshell Razor

Oyster

Mussel

The mist lifted a bit as we turned to go.

We passed this Iron Age hill fort mound at Harding's Down as we left the village of Llangennith.
Postcsript 2014: please read comment below by Craig Howells for a further (corrective) note concerning the mention of a 'hill fort' at Harding's Down in this post.

5 comments:

  1. Caroline,

    Enjoyed these shell photos, very well done. Never seen the limpet before. The old fort is impressive ever after all these years.

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  2. Stunning views!! Loved your post. Glad you had individual pictures of the shells. I live far away from the sea so whenever I happen to be at a beach I pick a whole lot of shells. I find the shapes most fascinating!!

    Thank you for mentioning the link between Wales and Khasi. I hope you found the Wiki article interesting.

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  3. Your shells are beautiful ~ and reminded me that I have a few razor clam shells from there :)

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  4. The above ancient monument (earth circle, ditch and mound) is not a hill-fort. It's a causeway enclosure, which were used for tribal function in prehistoric Britain. Many causeway enclosures were later made into stone circles. A hill fort is a defensive enclosure, which are, as the name implies, placed upon the top of hills.

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