Henblas Burial Chamber

Cadw's description

Summary description and reason for designation

The following provides a general description of the Scheduled Monument.

The monument comprises a group of three very large blocks of stone that are situated on a level shelf, to the east of which the ground slopes sharply down to the Afon Cefni. Two of the stones are conical in shape and rest on their bases, being 4.1m and 3m in height with circumferences of 15.25m and 16.75m respectively. A third stone which leans against the first two measures 5.5m in height and 4.7m wide. It is almost certain that the position of the two upright stones is natural, but glacial striations on the underside of the third block indicate human intervention in its positioning. A fourth stone, 1.5m high, is said once to have stood four or five paces away on the E side, and may have formed part of an avenue of stones which is said to have led up to the main group. Cremations and associated artefacts are said to have been found close at hand. Although the group as a whole is mainly natural it may have been adapted for use as a burial place.

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.

The scheduled area comprises the remains described and areas around them within which related evidence may be expected to survive.