ME105

Arthog Standing Stones  

24/10/1979  

Designated  

Gwynedd  

Arthog  

265273  

313922  

Religious, Ritual and Funerary  

Kerb Cairn  

Prehistoric  

The following provides a general description of the Scheduled Ancient Monument. The monument is thought to comprise the remains of a burial cairn, with a kerb of edge-set stones defining the edge, which probably dates to the Bronze Age (c.2300 BC - 800 BC). Four flattish upright stones and the stubs of two others form the arc of a small circle c.3.5m in diameter, while four further stones stand in a more or less straight line which does not appear to have any obvious relationship to the circle despite starting within the area it would have occupied if complete. The ten stones range in height from c.1m to c.0.4m, and some bear traces of use as gateposts. Low banks in the vicinity of the site hint at disturbance by later cultivation. The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of prehistoric burial and ritual practices. The monument is an important relic of a prehistoric funerary and ritual landscape and retains significant archaeological potential, with a strong probability of the presence of both structural evidence and intact burial or ritual deposits. Kerb cairns may be 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.