Coetan Samson Burial Chamber

Cadw's description

Summary description and reason for designation

The following provides a general description of the Scheduled Ancient 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.

The burial chamber is formed by a group of five large procumbent slabs, with a sixth, a huge capstone, resting on the edge of the group, and sits on a circular platform raised perceptibly above the surrounding field. The capstone which measures, 2.5m in length, 2.4m wide and is 0.3m in thickness, is rather split at the north end, it lies on two slumped side-stones, and another smaller boulder. To the south are two large earthfast stones, which may in fact be outcrops, and a number of small boulders scattered around the mound which itself is 0.8m in height.

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.