On the south side of the railway on Ty Llwyd Lands is a stone marked in the Ordnance Map as "Carreg Myrddyn", which has Oghams, and on its north-western side a hollow near the top. The tradition respecting this monolith is that Merlin Ambrosius prophesied that a raven would drink up a man's blood off it; and a rather remarkable coincidence is said to have taken place within the memory of persons who were alive about fifteen years ago. A man hunting for treasure-trove sought, by digging on one side, to get at the base. The earth gave way, and the stone fell upon and crushed him to death. The proprietor of the soil ordered the stone to be placed back in its original position, to effect which it took the full strength of five horses drawing with strong chains.
Parish of ABERGWILI. Carreg Fyrddin, 'Merlin's Stone' (6 in. Ord. Surv. sheet, Carm. 40 N.W.; lat 51'52'1", long. 4'14'14").
This stone stands in a field called Parc y maen llwyd on the farm of Ty llwyd. The farmstead is placed at the foot of the picturesque height called Merlin's Hill, and the stone has a place in the traditions of the neighbourhood concerning Merlin. It stands 5 feet above ground, is 4 feet 6 inches broad, and 1 foot thick; it faces south. Certain marks on this stone have been thought to be Ogam characters, but they are probably only accidental or random scorings. A highly fanciful sketch of them is given in Westwood's Lapidarium Walliae, pl. 47, fig. 1; and the stone is referred to in Arch Camb., 1876, IV, vii, 236; ib., 1877, IV, viii, 137.
About 150 yards north-east of Carreg Fyrddin and on the same farm of Ty llwyd, are two meini hirion, separated 50 feet from each other. They are about 4 feet high, and 4 feet 6 inches broad. They bear no distinctive names, nor is any tradition connected with them. - Visited, 24th September, 1912.
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Posted by Rhiannon
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