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Wales
Ffyst SamsonChambered Tomb
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Visited 13/04/07: As Merrick says, this isn't an easy site to get to. Having looked at large scale maps since our visit I have a strong suspicion that one of the public footpaths that should pass close to the tomb is blocked by a fence. The tomb stands just to the south of a rocky outcrop that's clearly visible from the road (see Moss' photo) but not marked on the Landranger. It's in the corner of a field, with gorse obscuring the view of it from the south. We found our way to Ffyst Samson with some difficulty. We tried working from Merrick's directions, approaching from the south, but I wish I'd taken a better map with me. We ended up loosing the footpath, which I wasn't really comfortable about, but it really wasn't clear where it went. If I did it again I'd try an alternative route, approaching from the north east. |
Posted by Kammer9th June 2007ce Edited 9th June 2007ce |
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A tad difficult to find if you've only got the map. The footpath marked is not marked or obvious on the ground. There's a footpath sign a few hundred metres further north along the road by the houses, but it points straight into a 6ft wall! The presence of the furious gorse that grows all over so many of the cromleched outcrops was off-putting, but we persevered and it paid off. It stands with the capstone on two remaining uprights, with such squared angles involved that it looks for all the world like a mini-Stonehenge. As with so many cromlechs in the area, the capstone is a fat-spearhead like D-shape. The possibly tooled flat end faces the pillar outcrop. There are clear views to the same three peaks of Mynydd Preseli visible from most monuments hereabouts, to all the northern outcrops of the Pen Caer/ Strumble Head peninsula, Carn Gelli (the outcrop above Ffynnon Druidion), and a clear sightline to Carreg Samson cromlech and the peaks around Pen Caer Dewi/ St David's Head. Glad to see that somebody's been deliberately clearing the cromlech of gorse. Directions: From the road at the western side, head up the hill towards the rocky outcrop. Once above it, you see a dramatic towering pillar of outcrop beyond – head towards this. The cromlech is in the same fence boundary as it, 60metres below, SW toward the houses. visited 22 Aug 04 |
Posted by Merrick 7th September 2004ce |
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As you can be see, I didn't find the cromlech, it is apparently but a few metres east of the rocky tor/outcrop on above photo which obviously gives the cromlech its significance according to Neolithic Sites of Pembs., Children & Nash). To get nearer the outcrop would have involved pushing through three lots of barbed wire plus climbing stone banks - something the Welsh farmers really get cross about! Given its narrative within the landscape, (some cromlechs are hidden from view) this one, according to Children, its importance is linked with the rocky outcrop. It was not a visual concept, such as Carreg Samson maybe, but one constructed through ritual and symbolic knowledge of the landscape. My interpretation of what he means by this, is that the shape of the outcrop is similar to the shape of a burial mound. Similar tor like shapes are found on the Preseli mountains - natural places being seen as the burial stones of long dead ancestors. |
Posted by moss25th April 2007ce Edited 9th June 2007ce |
In the book Saints and Stones (ISBN 1-84323-124-7) Davies and Eastham describe Ffyst Samson as a landmark on one of the Medieval pilgrim route to St David's:A walk from Trellys-draw farm leads through a gate up the hillside footpath opposite for 0.5ml to the moorland beyond. The tomb stands among gorse on a rocky plateau commanding stupendous vistas over the surrounding countryside towards St David's Head and the sea. The enormous, rugged capstone rests delicately on two metre-high sidestones.According to Davies and Eastham the name 'Ffyst Samson' translates into English as 'St Samson's Flail' (the inclusion of the title 'Saint' indicates a degree of bias towards Celtic Christian tradition). |
Posted by Kammer 10th June 2004ce Edited 25th June 2004ce |
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