Maen Hir

Nearest town:
Llanidloes (13km NE)
OS reference:
SN856758
OS sheets:
135, 136, 147
Latitude:
52° 22' 4.22 N
Longitude:
3° 40' 49.58 W
Added to TMA by

Images

Image of Maen Hir (Standing Stone / Menhir) by Kammer

Taken 6th April 2003: The fallen stone from the west (this time the packing stones are obscured by the reeds).

Image credit: Simon Marshall
Kammer
Kammer Jun 4, 2003
Image of Maen Hir (Standing Stone / Menhir) by Kammer

Taken 6th April 2003: The view west from just behind the fallen stone (partially obscured behind the reeds in the foreground).

Image credit: Simon Marshall
Kammer
Kammer Jun 4, 2003
Image of Maen Hir (Standing Stone / Menhir) by Kammer

Taken 9th March 2003: This shot shows (what I believe to be) the packing stones. I’ve indicated the stones with red arrows, between which is a gap that fits the ‘fallen’ stone almost perfectly.

The (probable) standing stone lies on the other side of the reeds so you can’t see it from this angle.

I stuck my GPS in shot to give an indication of scale (the yellow blob, between the arrows). It’s 11cm long.

Image credit: Simon Marshall
Kammer
Kammer Apr 1, 2003
Image of Maen Hir (Standing Stone / Menhir) by Kammer

Taken 9th March 2003: This is the stone, viewed from the south west (or thereabouts). The packing stones are on the other side of the reeds so you can’t see them from this angle. The weather was appalling, and the light was fading when I took this.

I stuck my GPS in shot to give an indication of scale (the yellow blob to the left of the stone). It’s 11cm long.

Image credit: Simon Marshall
Kammer
Kammer Apr 1, 2003

Articles

Maen Hir

Kammer
Kammer Jun 4, 2003

Visited 6th April 2003: On our way to Maengwyngweddw I insisted on stopping at Maen Hir to get some decent photographs. This time the weather was much better, with the view to the west relatively clear. The position of this stone at the head of the valley may relate to Afon Ystwyth, which eventually emerges next to Aberystwyth (the town’s name meaning mouth of the Ystwyth).

Maen Hir

Kammer
Kammer Apr 1, 2003

Visited 9th March 2003: I trudged out into the drizzle to try and find this obscure stone, having seen it listed in the Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust (CPAT) records. I didn’t find a standing stone, but I found what looked like a fallen standing stone, with some exposed packing stones. I took some photos and a grid reference (SN8558575847), and decided to find out more from CPAT.

After quite a few emails back and forth I confirmed that the stone I’d found was the same stone that CPAT had on their records. The stone was listed after a report from one of the Elan Valley wardens in 2001. I wanted to be 100% sure I had the right stone, so I contacted the warden to check. Based on my photos, he confirmed that this is the same stone he reported to CPAT.

What we still don’t know is whether this is a fallen Bronze Age standing stone, or just a random lump of rock. The area that it’s sited on is known as Maen Hir (meaning Long Stone, so the likelihood that a stone had once stood there is high. I’m hoping that CPAT will now do some further investigation and find out more.

Sites within 20km of Maen Hir

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