Trethevy Quoit

Known locally as "the giant's house".

Standing 9 feet (2.7 m) high, this magnificent 5000-year-old

ancient structure consists of Six standing stones capped by a large slab.

Visit Date March 2024

Trethevy Quoit

Walking up to this structure, it is in a field close to some modern houses you do not get a feel of the size of this structure but as you approach the magnificence of this site overwhelms you.

Click on any image to enlarge

There are many of these burial sites in the UK and Cornwall has a large number of them.

Like many other portal structures, Trethevy Quoit would have been originally covered by a mound.

In the 19th century, William Copeland Borlase studied the site and made drawings of it.

A later investigation of the remnants suggests a mound diameter of almost 6.5 metres.

It is impossible to tell if stones have been removed from the site but the remaining seven stones a and an estimated 10.5-ton cover slab were inside the mound.

Trethevy Quoit

There are some unusual aspects of Trethevy Quoit, not only does it have 6 supporting stones forming its internal chamber, but it also has an antechamber at the 'front'. The only other Cornish quoit to boast two chambers is Lanyon Quoit.

Particularly interesting is the circular hole cut in the highermost corner of the capstone. Speculation has informed us that the hole could have been used for astronomy. The movement and settling over the millennia that have passed means it is impossible to prove, but it is peculiar and thought to be unique to this megalithic site.

Click on any image to enlarge

The massive capstone sits at a steep angle, and this is unlikely if this was the capstone's original position. At the lower side of the capstone, five small hollows can be found.

The entrance stone at the front in most portal structures can't be moved. however, Trevethy Quoit is a rare exception here, because a small rectangular stone moving at the bottom right of the front allows access to the chamber.

There is a rectangular cut-out at the side of the upright stone that forms the front of the main chamber it is unclear if this is a later modification of if it was used and an entrance this is not seen on any other Cornish sites.

Trethevy Quoit

Trethevy Quoit was first mentioned in 1584 by John Norden, in a topographical and historical account of Britain.

He described it as “A little howse raised of mightie stones, standing on a little hill within a fielde”.

Trethevy Quoit

In Cornish mythology, the monument is known as the Giant’s House and was believed to have been created by this fabled race.

It also like many other structures in Cornwall and indeed Wales it has links with King Arthur legend and is believed to have been magically built by Merlin.

Additional information:-

A Cromlech or Dolmen is an ancient underground tomb typically built with several large upright stones and a capstone on top. In its day, the whole thing would have been covered by a mound of earth. In some parts of the UK especially in Cornwall these structures are called Quoits.

Most date from the Late Neolithic period (4000–2000 BC)

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50.493185727515105, -4.455456201119047

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///countries.extent.nibbles

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SX 25936 68813 : Altitude:725 ft

Additional information.

Visiting is fairly easy although the roads become just lanes for some of the way and parking is a small car park for about three cars (50.493164985542144, -4.454975466726607) and a short walk into the adjacent field.
The approach is via the B3254 and turn off towards the village of Darite. On this road you will see the turn off for the quoit.










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The Longstone Cross (Long Tom)

 

Commonly known as "Long Tom" this stick of granite stands more than 2.5 metres (9 feet) high. 

Taking the form of a deliberately shaped standing stone, the top quarter is marked with a carved Greek cross. 

As is common with these early Christian crosses, it is likely to have been added to a much earlier standing stone after Christianity took hold in the area.

Visit Date March 2024

The Longstone Cross (Long Tom) Cornwall

Situated on Bodmin Moor before being inscribed with the cross, Long Tom is almost certainly part of a landscape of prehistoric landmarks.

It would seem to be aligned with the three ancient circles of the nearby "Hurlers".

Regarding the carving of the cross, it was common for the early Christians to carve crosses on existing ritual sites and for the site to have been adopted for Christian rituals.

The Longstone Cross (Long Tom) Cornwall

It is difficult often to age these stones but the carved Long Tom is thought to be at least 600 years old and possibly much older and pre-carved standing Menhir is prehistoric.

The Longstone Cross (Long Tom) Cornwall

These crosses are quite common on Bodmin Moor with at least 35 having been found and 21 of these listed as wayside crosses. Long Tom is one of the best preserved and although many of the crosses may have been moved from their original position this is not thought to be the case with Long Tom which seems to be in its original place.

The carving on these wayside crosses found in Cornwall tend to be modeled like churchyard crosses which are often made from a single stone with a rounded wheel head with a cross carving.

The Longstone Cross (Long Tom) North Face

In Cornwall, such wayside crosses tended to be modeled after churchyard crosses or market crosses. Most were made from a single slab of stone topped by a rounded wheel head carved with religious figures. 

Wayside crosses served a dual purpose. While they were a gathering place for Christian preaching, they also served as way-markers or signposts in a landscape that could be difficult to navigate.

The Longstone Cross (Long Tom) South Face

The cross head is decorated with an incised carving of a cross on the north and south faces. The south face is much better preserved. 

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50.508796877158495, -4.461704999304393

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///opens.assemble.bloomers

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SX 25546 70560 Altitude:1016 ft

Additional information.

Visiting is very easy and parking is a small lay by on the side of the road which was completely flooded on my visit.

Long Tom can easily be seen from the road on approach.

The road is much better when approaching from the south.

On the A38 you can turn off at Doublebois and head for St Cleer / Common moor and Minions. The site is around 5 miles from here.

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Dyffryn Ardudwy Burial Chamber

Neolithic burial sites can be found all over Wales, the UK and across Europe.

I have visited many of these sites and have posted information on them here such as

Maen Ceti (Arthur's Stone)   St Lythans Dolmen  Carreg Samson and Coetan Arthur

What makes the site at Duffryn Ardudwy different is that there are two tombs close together.

Visit Date May 2023

Click on any image to enlarge.

The two dolmens are just 30 feet apart within a much bigger mound.

The chambers were built sometime between 4000-2000 BC, probably as a communal burial site. The entire monument was probably originally covered by a mound of small stones.

Click on any image to enlarge

The investigation following the excavation seems to explain that there had been two different periods of construction at the site.

The Western Dolmen

First, the smaller, western, dolmen had been put up and surrounded by an oval cairn.

The Eastern Dolmen

Sometime later, a larger Eastern tomb was constructed with a trapezial design which was needed to combine both tombs.

Click on any image to enlarge

Today the site consists of an elongated oval, running up a slight slope, with one large chamber at the top eastern end of the slope and a smaller chamber beneath the branches of a tree at the lower western end. Beside the upper chamber is a solitary standing stone.

Dyffryn Ardudwy Burial Chamber

The site was excavated in 1961-2 by T.G.E. Powell. Although the tomb had been rifled, at the smaller dolmen a pit containing fragments of five Neolithic pottery vessels was found sealed by the cairn in front of the tomb.

This tomb has a small prehistoric cup-mark carved on one of its portal stones.

The Eastern Tomb

The second, larger megalithic tomb was built to the east and was set within a large, rectangular cairn which incorporated the earlier tomb. This later tomb produced both Neolithic and Bronze Age pottery.

Other finds included a fine, broken, stone pendant.

It was found necessary in 1961-62 to provide additional support for the great roofing stone on the eastern dolmen and a buttress was built on either side of the chamber for this purpose.

The Western Tomb

There is little doubt that the two tombs were built several generations apart.

Stones from this site have been used in the past as building materials and this is often the case at these sites but there is still a vast amount of stones around the site.

Dyffryn Ardudwy Burial Chamber

In his book, 'Guide to Ancient Britain' Bill Anderton writes that: “As part of an outbreak of light phenomena, columns of light were seen issuing from the ground here in 1905. 

The site stands on the Morchras geological fault.

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52.78462455046947, -4.094379021652469

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Dyffryn Ardudwy Burial Chamber

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///bagpipes.genius.snowmen

OS Details: -
SH 58852 22835L : Altitude:141 ft

Additional information.

Visiting is very easy but parking close is not so.
First there is Station road parking (52.78834904037549, -4.097879713123781) this will be the closest and it is just a 500 metre walk back to the main road and down to the school where the marked path alongside the school takes you to the site.
Alternatively park opposite the community centre (52.78834904037549, -4.097879713123781) and the walk is just an additional 200 metres and you may then visit the friendly café in the community centre. Good coffee and a warm welcome.

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Tŷ Newydd Burial Chamber.

 

Tŷ Newydd burial chamber although ruined, is still a good example of a megalithic dolmen. 

Set on a natural outcrop it would originally have been covered with a mound or cairn 

now marked out by the small bollards that surround it.

Visit Date May 2023

Click on image for a larger version.

Ty-Newydd has a massive cracked capstone, about 4.0m by 1.8m and up to 1.2m thick, that rests on three of the four remaining uprights. The Capstone is likely to have originally been wider as part of the southern edge has broken off.

The chamber was originally part of a passage grave. One theory is that the tomb was originally similar to Bryn Celli Ddu (the subject of a later blog), with a second chamber joined to the first by a passage, and the entire tomb was covered by a large earth mound which was later removed.

Early reports claim that the second larger chamber existed close by, this has long since been broken up and carried away as has any surface evidence of a covering stone cairn so it is impossible to establish the original layout of the site although several small concrete markers around the chamber hint at the possible extent.

It is said to have once been enclosed by a circular wall about 32m in diameter and this may reflect the form of the cairn.

The huge tilted capstone is split and is now partly supported by brickwork and concrete. This does distract from the natural beauty of this site however one suspects that without this intervention the capstone would now be on the ground.

There is a photo in 'The Ancient Stones of Wales' by Barber and Williams, which purports to show Ty Newydd in 1900, with the capstone resting on 3 uprights, without all the modern brickwork.

The chamber was excavated in August 1935 by Charles Phillips.

There was a lot of charcoal, suggesting evidence of a large fire that formed this thick layer of charcoal as well as a quantity of quartz.

There were no human remains found at the site however the finds included five flint flakes, a burnt flint arrowhead, a small chip from a polished flint axe, and some small fragments of pottery. Phillips believed that the pottery fragments were from the Beaker culture, suggesting a Bronze Age reuse of this earlier Neolithic monument.

More recently, prehistoric artwork termed ‘cup marks’ have been detected on the capstone.

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Google Reference: -
53.23592779682485, -4.482380635799995

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I have had a few problems with google maps trying to locate the exact place by description so please use the google reference above.

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///overgrown.broke.slings

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SH 34422 73862 Altitude:115 ft

Additional information.

Visiting is relatively easy.
There is a turn off to an unnamed road off the A4080
It traveling north the entrance to the field is on the right hand side and is has a ancient monument signpost and information board.
There is a small layby (53.23661829013594, -4.485084849839341).

There are no facilities here.

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Devil's Quoit. .

Devil's Quoit

An ancient Neolithic burial chamber in the centre of a field, near the coast in Pembrokeshire, Wales.

Formed by a large wedge-shaped capstone which is supported on the east by two large side stones

and the west by a third side stone which now lies on the ground. 

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Visit Date April 2022

In Wales, there are many of these types of burial sites and as in the rest of the UK, they can be referred to as Quoits, Dolmens or Chromlechs. In addition, the name "Devil's Quoit" is also commonly used for other sites and standing stones in the area.

The structures typically have three or more upright standing stones with a large capstone on top. Originally they would have been covered with earth.

In its current form, there is no mound to be seen but it was noted when investigated in 1810 that there was a large circular "Agger" or earthwork around the monument.

The pieces of the monument are of a reddish-brown conglomerate; the capstone measures 2.75m in length and is 2m wide. The uprights would be around 1.5 metres high.

There is little recorded about this site and the chamber is in the centre of a field on private land and is inaccessible due to the area being sealed off by an electrical fence. Despite this, The monument is of national importance and is a substantial relic of a prehistoric funerary and ritual landscape that may retain significant archaeological potential, with a strong probability of the presence of both intact burial or ritual remains, and  environmental and structural evidence, including a buried prehistoric land surface.

The mount is on a peninsular of land with the sea to either side.

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51.66650404534974, -5.05761344477118

What Three Words reference: -
///windpipe.pays.premiums

OS Details: -
SM 88652 00842 Altitude: 204 ft

Additional information.
This is an important historical site, however, as it is in a field and on private land, surrounded by an electrical fence therefore a close visit is not possible however, the site can be seen from the road and a small pull-in by the field gate is possible.

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Coetan Arthur

  

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C o e t a n  A r t h u r

Coetan Arthur (also known as Arthurs Quoit).

 A dolmen on the southwest coast of Wales 

on the St. Davids's head peninsular, 

in county of Pembrokeshire, Wales.

This impressive megalithic tomb dates from 

between 4000 to 3000 BC.

The dolmen, which is formed by two vertical 

megaliths erected to support a flat capstone,

is partially collapsed, but still impressive nonetheless.

Visit Date August 2022

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There are many ancient burial sites around the southwest of Wales

These burial sites are often marked with three or more uprights and a large capstone. Often this is all that is left of the site which would originally be covered with earth. This upright/capstone structure has been called a Dolmens or often also referred to here in Wales as a Cromlech, but my understanding is that Cromlech can also refer to a circular stone structure.

This structure should not be confused with Carreg Coeten Arthur which is also in Pembroke, and which will be covered in another blog soon.

The St Davids headland is full of ancient remains including signs of ancient field patterns, Neolithic enclosures, and defensive banks and ditches.

Perhaps the most impressive part of the burial chamber is the massive capstone, which is roughly 6m long and 2.5m wide. The upright stone supporting it (known as an orthostat) is about 1.5m high.

The site here overlooks Whitesands Bay at St. Davids and has a good view but is far enough from the main cliff not to be to battered by any storms that hit the coast.

It has been reported many visitors to the site that they found the site hard to find. I suspect that if you were only casually walking the coast path that this could be true but I found that the site could be seen from quite a distance when walking east to west which seems to be the most natural direction to be walking.

These ancient sites often have a legend attached to them and this one is no exception. The legend for Coetan Arthur states King Arthur himself chucked the stones from nearby Carn Llidi.

Note: The terms Dolmen, Cromlech and Quoit are often used to describe this sort of neolithic site.

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51.90450867492426, -5.308083153876568

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///snowstorm.finely.deck

OS Details: -
SM 72527 28056 Altitude: 162 ft

Additional information.
Visiting is easy, head to Whitesands bay car park (51.897174093111616, -5.2940221280185105) this is a caravan and camping park and is easy to get to.

There is good facilities for the park, there is a charge for parking.

The walk is around 1mile from the car park but is not flat it is undulating.
Before you descend to the path to Pothmelgan beach (there is a small crossing) you can see the site to the northwest. You can then either take the steep path directly to the site of take the coastal path around the head and then on to the site.

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Penmaen Burrows Burial Chamber - Dolmen.

 

Visit date 08-2022.  

View showing entrance passage

There are many ancient burial sites around the southwest of Wales and I took a recent visit to Penmaen Burrows on the Gower peninsular to try and find one of the lesser known minor Neolithic burial sites.

These burial sites are often marked with three or more uprights and a large capstone. Often this is all that is left of the site which would originally be covered with earth. This upright/capstone structure has been called a Dolmens or often also referred to here in Wales as a Cromlech., but my understanding is that Cromlech can also refer to a circular stone structure.

Close up of front of dolmen

It stands around 50 feet above the shoreline in a bowl near a sand dune. It consists of two rectangular chambers and a 2-metre leading passage.

The main chamber is about 4 metres long and around 2 metres wide.

There are a number of uprights possibly 6 or seven and a large capstone made of some sort of sandstone conglomerate.

Side view of entrance

The capstone has been displaced somewhat with the passing of time and sits at an obtuse angle.

The chamber would have been more than 1 metre high.

The second chamber is almost buried again.

investigations were carried out in 1860 and 1881 and the remains were cleared in 1893 down to the original ground surface.

Most of what was uncovered has been reclaimed by the blowing sand from the coastline.

View from rear showing capstone

At the site were found some bones and artefacts which consisted mainly of late debris in the filling of blown sand, including human jaw fragments, animal bones and a piece of a bone tool handle. Bones were found beneath two internal paving slabs that were left in place while `three small pieces of brown pottery lay on an early surface.

View of conglomerate showing quartz content

Some of the conglomerate stones have a lot of quartz in them but are in tact. There have been many burial sites where the stones can be seen pitted where the quartz has been removed.

The burial site is around 1.5 km to the southwest of Penard Castle which is on the other side of the bay which I visited on an earlier trip and can be seen here.

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51.57278938446611, -4.120320919546553

What Three Words reference : ///reputable.dare.superbly

Although it is possible to walk here from The Cliffs Bay, the easiest route is from the west side of the burrows.

Here the site is easy to find just 20 minutes from the small car park which has parking for around a dozen cars (51.575623411575215, -4.1279809835289045) it does get busy with hikers and dog walkers. The pathway is well signposted from here and the path taken will pass a old stone building and then through a set of gates. A few hundred metres further there is an offset crossroads in the path. The first on the left goes to a secondary mound of stone but the second path on the right takes you through the hedge and into the clearing where the dolmen is found.

My visit was at the Hight of summer and the vegetation was perhaps at it's most vigorous. It might be easier to find in the winter.

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