CM057

Meini Llwydion Burial Chamber  

 

Designated  

Carmarthenshire  

Llangain  

237725  

215345  

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. The remains of the burial chamber consist of three upright stones and two smaller boulders which are situated in shallow depression in a sloping field. All the uprights are tilted, the southernmost and largest stone so much so, that it rests on the smaller boulders. All the uprights are roughly rectangular in cross section with the large southern stone measuring 2m in height, 1m wide and has a thickness of 0.7m at its base. 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.