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Cof Cymru: National Historic Assets of Wales · Wales

Tan-y-Coed Burial Chamber

Llandrillo, Denbighshire, Wales

A scheduled monument in Llandrillo, Denbighshire, recorded as Chambered Long Cairn (Prehistoric).

Ordnance Survey six-inch map, 2nd edition (1888–1913) covering the location of Tan-y-Coed Burial Chamber, Llandrillo, Denbighshire, with a pin at the register's coordinates
Ordnance Survey six-inch map, 2nd edition (1888–1913), covering this location. Courtesy of the National Library of Scotland. The pin is ours, placed from the register's coordinates.

The record

Designation
Scheduled monument
Site type
Chambered Long Cairn
Period
Prehistoric
Community
Llandrillo
Unitary authority
Denbighshire
Country
Wales
Coordinates (centre of the scheduled area)
52.94542, -3.41878
SAM number
ME048
Cadw record number
542

Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.

David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

5 historical maps cover this location, the earliest the 1795 map "To Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn Bart ... the map of the six counties of North Wales is most humbly inscribed by his obedient humble servant" (Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru – The National Library of Wales).

Historical maps covering this location

  • 1795 · To Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn Bart ... the map of the six counties of North Wales is most… (Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru – The National Library of Wales)
  • 1830 · V.3:11-15:XV. Britisches Reich. A. Kon: England. b. Frstenthum Wales: Shire: 37-40 (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
  • 1883 · Watershed map England, Wales 3. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
  • 1898 · 120 Corwen (Hills) (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
  • 1901 · Sheet 9 and 10. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)

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This record in Cadw's own full report ↗

Cadw's description

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

The monument consists of the remains of a chambered long cairn, dating to early Neolithic (c. 4,200BC - 3,000BC). A long cairn is a roughly rectangular or trapezoidal mound of stone, usually between 25m and 120m long, with a length exceeding twice its greatest width. The mound may be edged with a timber or stone revetment, and they contain one or more stone or wooden burial chambers at one end.

The site comprises of the irregular elongated mound of a cairn with single chamber covered by a capstone exposed near its centre and on the northern side the exposed remains of passage walling, from which the capstones have been removed. The cairn has been greatly disturbed by farming operations and at present measures c. 43m in length and has a maximum width of 20m. The capstone of the chamber measures 3.3m in length and 2.1m in width across its centre, it is 0.4m thick and covers a single orthostatic supporter visible at its south western corner. The current passage leading to the chamber is modern and contemporary with farming operations at the site.

The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of prehistoric burial and ritual practices. The features are an important relic of a prehistoric funerary and ritual landscape and retain significant archaeological potential. There is a strong probability of the presence of both intact ritual and burial deposits, together with environmental and structural evidence. Chambered long cairns 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.

Nearby in the register

Other entries of the same register within about three miles of this one, by straight line.

Designated Historic Asset GIS Data, The Welsh Historic Environment Service (Cadw), 2026-09-07, licensed under the Open Government Licence http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/ Cadw, the Welsh Historic Environment Service · Open Government Licence v3.0
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