Cae-yr-Arfau 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. 4400 BC - 2900 BC). Chambered tombs were built and used by communities over long periods of time. There appear to be many regional traditions and variations in shape and construction.

The burial chamber is situated on a low spur overlooking the Ely valley to the southwest. It has partially been incorporated into a modern stone wall of a private residence. The chamber consists of three large slabs of stone, two orthostats and a capstone, forming a rectangular chamber measuring internally c.1.2m in width and 1.5m high. The capstone is 2m in length, 1.8m wide and 0.3m thick, sloping down towards the south and supported at this end by smaller stones. The upright on the east side is 1.7m in height, 2m wide and 0.75m thick at its thicker end nearest the ground. The slab on the west is 1.7m in height, 1.5m wide and 0.3m thick. On the ground lying flat within the chamber is a smaller slab measuring 1m long and 0.75m wide.

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.