Scheduled Monuments- Full Report
Summary Description of a Scheduled Monument
Reference Number
RD202
Name
Beddau Folau Chambered Tomb
Date of Designation
14/01/2003
Status
Designated
Location
Unitary Authority
Powys
Community
Rhayader
Easting
292195
Northing
265993
Broad Class
Religious, Ritual and Funerary
Site Type
Chambered Tomb
Period
Prehistoric
Description
Summary Description and Reason for Designation
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. Beddau Folau is an oval, turf-covered cairn, some 6.7m in long by 5.8m wide and aligned north to south. Set within the body of the cairn are the remains of a megalithic burial chamber made up of six large, stone slabs - four upright and two recumbent.
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. It is a circle and measures 15m in diameter, centred on the cairn.