GM339

Site of Tegernacus Stone  

21/02/1973  

Designated  

Caerphilly  

Darran Valley  

313750  

202623  

Religious, Ritual and Funerary  

Inscribed Stone  

Early Medieval  

The following provides a general description of the Scheduled Ancient Monument. The monument comprises the site of a 7th century inscribed memorial stone which was removed to the National Museum of Wales in c. 1920. Its site is marked by a concrete pillar. The inscription on the stone reads TEGERNA/CUS FILI/(U)S MARM/MIC IACIT. The pillar stands in a field a few metres west of the ridgeway along the crest of Cefn y Brithdir. Its siting suggests that the stone was meant to be seen from this ridgeway. The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of early Christian burial and ritual practices. The features are an important relic of a post-Roman 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 settings 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.