MM017

Harold's Stones, Standing Stones  

 

Designated  

Monmouthshire  

Trellech United  

349929  

205144  

Religious, Ritual and Funerary  

Stone Alignment  

Prehistoric  

The monument comprises the remains of a stone alignment, probably dating to the Bronze Age (c.2300 BC - 800 BC). There are 3 stones in a north-east-south-west alignment. The total distance between them is 14m. They are made of a conglomerate stone called pudding stone. The stone at the north-east end is 2.2m high, 1m wide and 0.4m thick. It leans slightly towards the north. The middle stone is 2.5m high, 0.7m wide and 0.7m thick, and leans slightly towards the west. The stone at the south-west end is the largest, being 3m high, 1m wide at the base, tapering to 0.4m at the top, and 0.7m wide. It leans considerably towards the south-east. The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of prehistoric burial and ritual practices. It is an important relic of a prehistoric funerary and ritual landscape and retain significant archaeological potential, with a strong probability of the presence of both intact burial and ritual deposits and environmental and structural evidence. Stone alignments 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.