CN078

Penarth Burial Chamber  

 

Designated  

Gwynedd  

Clynnog  

242996  

351068  

Religious, Ritual and Funerary  

Chambered Tomb  

Prehistoric  

The following provides a general description of the Scheduled 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 rectangular burial chamber measures 1.52m along its north-south axis and is formed by three supporters and a fallen cover stone. The cover stone now rests on the west upright which is c. 0.75m high and on loose stones which fill the middle of the chamber. The cover stone is roughly rectangular and measures 2.2m in length, 2.05m wide with a maximum thickness of 0.7m. There are two other uprights which are 1m and 1.2m in height. 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.