PE054

Coetan Arthur Burial Chamber  

 

Designated  

Pembrokeshire  

St. David's and the Cathedral Close  

172531  

228055  

Religious, Ritual and Funerary  

Chambered Tomb  

Prehistoric  

The following provides a general description of the Scheduled Ancient Monument. The monument comprises the remains of a chambered tomb, dating to the Neolithic period (c. 4,400 BC - 2,900 BC). Chambered tombs were built and used by local farming communities over long periods of time. There appear to be many regional traditions and variations in shape and construction. Coetan Arthur is a dolmen with a small polygonal chamber which stands on the open rock-strewn plateau east of the promontory fort. The capstone measures 3.65m by 2.03m and has slipped off, resting only on one of the uprights, the lower end being embedded in the soil outside the chamber. Only three uprights now remain and there is no trace of any mound. The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of prehistoric burial and ritual. 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 intact burial or ritual deposits and environmental and structural evidence, including a buried prehistoric land surface. Chambered tombs 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.