GM436

Burnt Mound 300m SW of Arthur's Stone  

01/06/1988  

Designated  

Swansea  

Llanrhidian Lower  

248888  

190412  

Domestic  

Burnt Mound  

Prehistoric  

The following provides a general description of the Scheduled Ancient Monument. The monument consists of the remains of a burnt mound, probably dating to the Bronze Age (c. 2,300BC - 800BC). A burnt mound is an accumulation of burnt (fire-crazed) stones, ash and charcoal, usually sited next to a river or lake, with hearths and/or some form of trough or basin capable of holding water either within the mound or adjacent to it. The mound lies in a marshy valley bottom on the west bank of a small stream and just north of two small pools. The arc is approximetely 10m in diameter and is approximetely 0.3m high. A depression approximately 10m wide running east to west and 30m running from north to south allows water to flow from the much damper southern part. The cooking mound is positioned at the end of the fringe of ground, with the interior of its arc opening onto the depression. The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of prehistoric ritual and funerary practices. It retains significant archaeological potential, with a strong probability of the presence of associated archaeological features and deposits. The structure itself may be expected to contain archaeological information concerning chronology and environmental evidence. A burnt mound 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.