ME114

Cerrig Arthur Stone Circle  

17/03/1980  

Designated  

Gwynedd  

Barmouth  

263170  

318887  

Religious, Ritual and Funerary  

Stone Circle  

Prehistoric  

The following provides a general description of the Scheduled Monument. A stone circle on a natural shelf in an E-facing slope, with some additional levelling. The dominant features at present are a group of three standing stones on the SE side and a low (20 - 30 cm, discontinuous) bank marking the circle; on investigation the stubs of other stones are visible in the bank. The three extant standing stones include one which appears to be positioned within the circle, and the fact that these three have survived tends to suggest they were the largest; hence this may have been a point of entry to the circle. Apart from these there are about 10 earthfast boulders or stone stubs, plus one outside the circle on the E, but these do not all occur in a regular line around the circle. They are both irregularly spaced and unevenly lined up. Presumably a deliberate attempt to destroy the circle was made in the past, and this has resulted in stones being removed, buried and displaced. Just possibly, given the position of the third of the standing stones, the circle originally had a double ring of stones, though this would be unusual. The site has certainly been ploughed in the past. The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of prehistoric ritual practises. It retains significant archaeological potential, with a strong probability of the presence of associated archaeological features and deposits, which may be expected to contain archaeological information concerning chronology and building techniques. The scheduled area comprises the remains described and an area around them within which related evidence may be expected to survive.