Six Stones Stone Circle

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 stone circle, which probably date to the Bronze Age (c. 2300 - 800 BC) and is located on a natural platform in a valley bottom near the source of a stream called the Glasnant. The circle is roughly egg-shaped, measuring c.27.5m north-west to south-east by 23.5m. Survey in 1986, which included probing, identified up to 23 stones, seven of them completely buried beneath the turf. The visible stones varied between 0.02m and 0.24m high, and were up to 0.5m long. All were of flaggy sandstone with flat faces set along the circumference of the ring. The area is quite densely heather covered and a more recent field visit was able to identify only seven visible stones, although the others are likely to remain in position beneath the vegetation. A grassy track passes close to the south of 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. Stone circles are often 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.