Gwynedd Archaeological
Trust Regional Historic Environment Record
Standing Stone, Maen y Gored, Tre'r Gwehelwdd
Primary Reference Number (PRN) : 2062 Trust : Gwynedd Community : Tref Alaw Unitary authority : Ynys Mon NGR : SH34068318 Site Type (preferred type first) : BRONZE AGE STANDING STONE Status : Scheduled Monument , Cared for by the State
Description : Standing stone. <1>
Maen Hir, formerly known as Maen y Gored, this stone is leaning in a north-westerly direction at an angle of about 45 degrees. Its present measurements are 8ft 6ins long on its upper surface, 3ft 6ins in width and from 1 to 2ft in thickness. It is composed of mica schist and dolerite that may be local, though there is little local dolerite except in ice carried boulders. On the OS map of 1841 it is described as Maen-y-gored, or the stone of the fish-weir. It is difficult to imagine at the present day where a weir could have existed in its immediate vicinity, possibly a fish-trap, or something of that sort was to be found in the River Alaw close by. A second stone lies nearly buried in the ground behind the leaning stone, the dimensions of which correspond nearly to the first. Excavation might reveal that when in their original position they were a pair which stood 11ft apart. <2>
Maen Hir, formerly known as Maen-y-gored, 1/3 mile northwest of farmhouse Tre-Gwehelydd on the summit of a low hill near the River Alaw, 1,400 yards southwest of the old church, 8 ft high by 3ft by 2 ft. The stone is in three pieces, held together by metal straps. Condition broken but secure. (RCAHMW, 1937)
The standing stone at SH34068318 is as described by RCAHM. There is no trace of the recumbent stone described by Baynes. <4>
A standing stone 2.5m high, 1.0m wide and 0.75m thick. It is sited on the top of a low gill close to the Afon Alaw. The stone is broken into three parts and is held together by iron clasps, a concrete platform has been laid around the base. A report of 1911 states that the stone was then leaning at an angle of 45 degrees, whereas it is now vertical. This same report records another large stone lying close by, and a block of sandstone underlying the standing stone. <5>
As previously described. Made of rather poor schist. Presumably re-erected in original orientation. On a low knoll - not the highest locally but giving a good prospect over the Alaw Valley to the N. The stone shows that it was almost certainly trimmed to shape - it is of a neat rectangular section and of even section top to bottom. The schist is fairly easily trimmed and although the NW & SE faces follow natural splits the sides have been trimmed. (Smith, 2003)
