Cave 36m W of Three Chimneys

Cadw's description

Summary description and reason for designation

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

The monument consists of a cave containing archaeological deposits that can date from as early as the Palaeolithic period. A cave may have been used for occupation, storage, burial, refuse, or as a temporary shelter.

The cave is located approximately 36m to the west of the ‘Three Chimneys’ rock arch at Bluepool Bay. The narrow entrance passage continues for 4.6m into a chamber with a boulder-strewn floor, which measures 7m in width and is 9m high. Two further passages lead 5.2m in the seaward direction and 3.7m in the landward direction. Excavations of c. 1923 and 1931 discovered the human remains of up to 41 individuals. Finds included Bronze Age pottery, an Iron Age figurine, a coin and brooches from the Roman period and a 9th century brooch. Due to the high number of skeletons, the unfavourable location for habitation and periodic flooding, it has been suggested that the cave may have been used as an ossuary.

The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of prehistoric settlement, ritual and funerary practices. It retains significant archaeological potential, with a strong probability of the presence of associated archaeological features and deposits. The scheduled area comprises the remains described and areas around them within which related evidence may be expected to survive.