Devil's Quoit 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. 4,400 BC - 2,900 BC). Chambered tombs were built and used by local farming communities over long periods of time. There appear to be many regional traditions and variations in shape and construction.

A burial chamber in centre of a field formed by a large wedge shaped cap stone which is supported on the east by two large side stones and on the west by a third presumed side stone which lies prostrate on the ground. The stones of the monument are of a reddish-brown conglomerate; the capstone measures 2.75m in length and is 2m wide. The uprights support the capstone 1.6m above the ground level. During 2004 a large stone was disturbed 15m to the north of the monument. The stone was removed from the ground and has been placed against the north eastern side of the burial chamber. The stone is 1.8m in length and is 1m wide at its base tapering at the top. The stone appears to be the same type as the stones forming the burial chamber.

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.