In its damaged and dilapidated state, it’s very much overshadowed by the neighbours at Tan y Muriau and Cefn Amlwch, but you have to give full marks for the setting above Porth Neigwl, with views to the distant Rhinogydd.
Looking north towards the long ridge of Mynydd Rhiw with its Bronze Age cairns and Neolithic axe factory. I was pleased about the electric fence between me and the herd of over-excitable bullocks.
Sadly this is one of those oh-what-a-shame-why-are-people-so-stupid sites.
Looking south, the prominent hill is Mynydd y Graig, with the Creigiau Gwineu hillfort on its rocky summit.
Broken capstone
Alright alright i’m coming
Two lines of six drill holes, full of water, one had a small brown snot worm (slug) coming or going in to one. Shadow puppetry thrown in for free.
Field clearance by a big stone near the broken burial chamber.
Perfect
Not marked on the 50,000 map, but is marked on the 25,000 as burial chamber, a good description of Tan y Muriau 700 meters north east possibly but not here, but, fallen broken stones probably won’t fit on the map. The capstone is on the floor with about a sixth of it lying broken off to the side, any upright stones are also fallen, the whole thing is fallen.
Two rows of water filled drill holes cross the center of the capstone, I had thought they were for breaking up the stone but it might be that the locals used to put gunpowder in the holes during festivities, a kind of firework?
But even in it’s destruction what’s left is enough to see that this would have been an impressive burial chamber, on dimensions alone similar to Chun Quoit.
But yet again the siting of the stones is quite splendid, looking down across Porth Neigwl, aka Hell’s mouth and on to Abersoch, and in the other direction, south west, up hill to Mynydd Graig with it’s fort and hut circles.
Disappointing burial chamber unless you know what to expect, one for the completest.
Marked on the OS map as a burial chamber, this ruined chambered cairn is 700 metres southwest of Tan-y-Muriau, and 1.5km south of Rhiw axe factory.
By ruined, I mean it is a pile of stones, with rows of holes visible on the capstone where someone has tried to split it.
