RD028

Gelli Hill Stone Circle  

 

Designated  

Powys  

Glascwm  

309557  

258395  

Religious, Ritual and Funerary  

Stone Circle  

Prehistoric  

The following provides a general description of the Scheduled Ancient Monument. The monument comprises the remains of a stone circle, which probably date to the Bronze Age (c. 2300 - 800 BC). The Gelli Hill Stone Circle is set in a low col on a plateau, and is c.22m in diameter with only eight stones now visible and apparently in situ, although others have been added to the west side, but none is earth-fast. A large flat slab lies inside the circle on the south-west side. Of the surviving stones, four lie on the south side, three on the north side and one on the west side. The tallest stone is only 0.65m high. There is the suggestion of an embankment on the south-west side and possible stone holes on the east side. The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of prehistoric burial and ritual practices. The features are an important relic of a prehistoric funerary and ritual landscape and retain significant archaeological potential. There is a strong probability of the presence of both intact ritual and burial deposits, together with environmental and structural evidence. Stone circles are often 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.