RD004

The Four Stones  

 

Designated  

Powys  

Old Radnor  

324579  

260799  

Religious, Ritual and Funerary  

Stone Setting  

Prehistoric  

The following provides a general description of the Scheduled Ancient Monument. The monument consists of a stone setting, an arrangement of one or more standing stones, dating to the Late Neolithic or Early Bronze Age. The Four Stones are four large monoliths arranged in a very rough square. There are no markings on any of the stones. Stone 1, at the south-west, is about 1.65m high and stands c.2.6m to the south of Stone 2, which is c.1.8m high. Stone 3 stands c.3.7m to the east of Stone 2 and is c.1.2m high. Stone 4 stands 1.8m south of Stone 3 and 2.4m east of Stone 1 and is c.1.6m high. The distance between Stone 1 and 4 is 2.4m. The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of prehistoric burial and ritual practices. The features are an important relic of a prehistoric funerary and ritual landscape and retain significant archaeological potential. There is a strong probability of the presence of both intact ritual and burial deposits, together with environmental and structural evidence. Stone settings are often part of a larger cluster of monuments and their importance can further enhanced by their group value. The scheduled area comprises the remains described and areas around them within which related evidence may be expected to survive.