CD136

Stone Circle and Associated Structures on Bryn y Gorlan  

29/10/1979  

Designated  

Ceredigion  

Llanddewi Brefi  

274933  

254696  

Religious, Ritual and Funerary  

Stone Circle  

Prehistoric  

The following provides a general description of the Scheduled Ancient Monument. The monument comprises the remains of a complex of monuments including a stone circle, a fallen standing stone, a small mound, and a stone setting which probably date to the Bronze Age (c. 2300 - 800 BC). Increasing molinia in the area makes it quite hard to identify some of the components, and different features have been seen on different visits, suggesting that there are in fact numerous features present in the area. The stone circle (SN 74890 54695) is however clear, though only four stones are clearly visible of the ten forming a semi-circle with a diameter of c.18m originally reported in 1980; a fifth can be felt by probing. The highest stone is 0.9m high and the smallest were said to be stumps of only 0.1m. The circle is located close to the highest point of the plateau. The fallen monolith (SN 74954 54630), 90m south-east of the stone circle, is also clear, on a slight rise a short distance from a set of vehicle tracks. It is broken at the base and though to have been originally c.1.8m high by 1.5m by 0.3m. The low mound (SN 7498 5476) is 2.5m in diameter and 0.15m high, with a circular hollow at its centre. It lies not far from the fallen standing stone and may mark its former position. The stone setting (SN 74830 54597) is a discontinuous ring of upright or leaning slabs defining an irregular area c.1.5m across. A low mound on the east is thought to be a spoil heap from a robbing episode. 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. The stone circle, standing stone and related small features here are almost certainly 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.