GM169

Pre-Norman Stones in Churchyard  

 

Designated  

Bridgend  

Merthyr Mawr  

288280  

177535  

Religious, Ritual and Funerary  

Cross base  

Early Medieval  

The following provides a general description of the Scheduled Ancient Monument. The monument consists of a collection of inscribed stones - commemorative monuments in the form of stones which have been inscribed with symbols, probably dating to the medieval period. The stones have been collected together in a shelter behind the church. They are of various dates, however the main early Christian ones are the following: an 11th century roughly shaped rectilinear cross-slab with a large and weathered cross of panelled cartwheel type; the upper part of an 11th century round-headed cross-slab with a similar cartwheel cross on the front and a plainer one on the back; a square 12th century slab, most of one end of a cross base, decorated with a plaitwork pattern (reused as a medieval jamb); a 12th century pillar-stone with deeply incised T-end crosses on both sides; a similar stone of the same date; and a badly weathered pillar-stone of the same date with a 'Maltese' cross in a sunk circular panel on one side and a deeply incised cross with T-ended arms on the other. The concentration of early Christian stones suggests a monastic clas foundation in the vicinity, perhaps on the site of the medieval church itself. The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of the organisation and practice of early medieval Christianity. It retains significant archaeological potential, with a strong probability of the presence of associated archaeological features and deposits. An inscribed stone 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.