Tan-y-Coed Burial Chamber

Cadw's description

Summary description and reason for designation

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.