Inscribed Stone & Early Gravestones in St Michael's Church

Cadw's description

Summary description and reason for designation

The following provides a general description of the Scheduled Ancient Monument.

The monument consists of an inscribed stone, a commemorative monument in the form of a stone which has been inscribed with symbols, probably dating to the medieval period. Also known as the Ulcagnus Stone, the monument comprises an inscribed stone and a cross-incised gravestone now located within St Michael's Church, Llanfihangel-ar-Arth. The former probably dates to the 6th century AD and the latter to the ninth to eleventh centuries AD. The stones are not in situ and the bases are currently mortared into the floor next to the internal face of the E wall of the vestry. The inscribed stone measures 0.95m in height, 0.3m in width and 0.3m in depth. The Latin inscription HICIACIT / VLCAGNVSFIVS / SENOMAGL is neatly picked out in Roman capitals in three vertical lines. The cross-incised stone measures 1.7m in height, 0.47m in width and 0.1m in depth and depicts a shallow grooved Latin cross with four bars and crosslets in the interspaces.

The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of the organisation and practice of medieval Christianity. 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.