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Chambered Tomb
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From Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust - http://www.cpat.org.uk/cpat/past/meso/meso.htm
Excavations were undertaken between 1977-78 on the Neolithic chambered tomb just outside Crickhowell in advance of improvements to the A40. The buried soil beneath the cairn produced evidence of Mesolithic activity in the period between about 5900-5600 BC represented by characteristic flint points or microliths. This activity appears to have been superseded in about 3750 BC by a small settlement represented by a number of pits and traces of a timber structure, probably a house. Cereal grains recovered from the buried soil provide evidence of early agriculture.
The Neolithic tomb which overlay the earlier settlement appears to have continued in use for a period of about 500 years, between about 3750-3200 BC. The monument took the form of a long trapezoidal mound, about 45 metres in length, which contained four stone chambers entered from the sides of the mound (one of which is visible in the photograph right), with a ceremonial forecourt at the eastern end. This type of tomb is well known from other sites in the Cotswolds and the Breconshire Black Mountains, together with a number of outliers in North Wales. Evidence from other sites suggests that the chambers were used for communal burial possibly by different family groups.
Excavations were funded by the Welsh Office.
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Posted by RiotGibbon
23rd August 2001ce
Edited 24th June 2004ce
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