Cefn Brafle Standing Stones View all content for Cefn Brafle

Coming north from our starting point of Hendy-Gwyn/Whitland, we crested the hill and Mynydd Preseli comes into view. On this landscape, megalithically speaking it's all about those mountains and it's at this point on the journey that the density of monuments kicks in. Marked as 'Standing Stone' on the current OS map, according to Barber & Williams (Ancient Stones of Wales, 1989) it was marked as 'Burial Chamber' on the 1952 edition. Indeed, there are clearly two stones, and a very probable third one lies fallen. The stones stand in the hedge at the back of the garden of a new-ish house called Maes-yr-Haf, utterly covered in ivy so that we were 2 feet away and didn't spot them until coming past a second time. They're a grey-white colour, one about 6ft tall, the one immediately adjacent about 4 ft tall. The fallen one lies about 15ft west under a tree in the garden. All three lie at the perimeter of the back garden, with the two standing ones accessible from the field behind. It's so overgrown, and now down to two stones, that it was difficult to get any clear orientation or vibe for the place, save for the way Mynydd Preseli dominated the horizon to the north. Barber & Williams (1989) say the site is listed in the Welsh archaeological journal Archaeologia Cambrensis in 1865 (page 91) and again in 1871 (page 133-136 with illustration on page 152). It would be interesting to see if the cromlech was in a better state of repair in that illustration. The alternative name of Arthur's Table is a straight translation of Bwrdd Arthur, (reference to the flat top look of a cromlech?), and 'Bwardd Arthur' is presumably a mis-spelling that's passed into use. Visited 17 Aug 04

Posted by Merrick 7th September 2004ce

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