The Glamorgan-Gwent Archaeological Trust
Historic Environment Record
 

The following information has been provided under the terms and conditions of access as detailed on GGAT’s website www.ggat.org.uk.  Copyright is reserved on all data supplied by the GGAT HER Charitable Trust. All output resulting from the use of the data must acknowledge the source as follows:-
Derived from information held by the GGAT HER Charitable Trust copyright.

The data below is intended to be used for information and research only and is not for use as part of a commercial project.  If you wish to use information derived from material held by the GGAT HER Charitable Trust for publication in printed or multimedia form or to compile resources for commercial use, prior permission must be obtained in writing. For further information or to arrange a visit to the Trust please send an enquiry form http://www.ggat.org.uk/her/english/enquiry_form.html to her@ggat.org.uk.

Tomb, Gaerllwyd

Primary Reference Number (PRN) : 01140g
Trust : Glamorgan Gwent
Community : Shirenewton
Unitary authority : Monmouthshire
NGR : ST44769674
Site Type (preferred type first) : Neolithic Chambered tomb
Status : Scheduled Monument

Summary :
Whittle (1987) describes this chambered cairn in much the same state as is recorded during the present visit. The monument is of the `portal dolmen' type. The portal dolmen consists of 11 conglomerate stones, 10 utilised as perimeter and upright supports

Description :
Whittle (1987) describes this chambered cairn in much the same state as is recorded during the present visit. The monument is of the `portal dolmen' type. The portal dolmen consists of 11 conglomerate stones, 10 utilised as perimeter and upright supports and the final being a triangular shaped capstone. The capstone is situated on a 45-degree angle (to the NW) and has its broadest face frontwards.
Dimensions: See descriptive text
(1987) The burial chamber is situated on high ground in a grass field, grazed by cows. It is right next to the hedge at the edge of the field on its SW side, which is next to the road. It consists of a large capstone resting on three upright stones, and further smaller stones to the NE and SW of it. There are twelve stones visible, including the capstone.
The capstone is a huge conglomerate stone of roughly triangular shape, with its widest end at the S and W. At its NW end it is resting on a stone lying flat, sloping towards the N, which is 0.4m thick, 1m wide and 1.3m long. The capstone is c.3.5m long, 1.5m wide at its widest end, and 0.7m thick. At its SE end it is resting on two upright stones which are both c.1.3m high, 1m wide and 0.4m thick. Underneath the capstone there are some smaller stones underneath its S side. To the SE of the capstone are four further stones besides the two it rests on. These are c.0.2-0.6m high, and are all grouped round the northern end of this end of the capstone. Beyond it to the NW are two further stones. One is upright, and is 1.2m high, and the other is flat on the ground and is 1.5 by 1m, and lies close to the hedge. (Source 01)
GGAT 72 Prehistoric Funerary and Ritual Sites Project 2003

A schedule ancient monument situated on a small mound at the juncture of two roads and near two stream sources at the head of Mounton Brook Valley in a field known as Cae fundy. A desk-based assessment was followed by a resistivity survey of the site was carried out in 2008. The survey of 11 remaining conglomerate megaliths and one nearby sandstone megalith showed that several were fallen or displaced, including the capstone (which was still in place in an 1846 woodcut), and one stone which was present in 1889 is now missing. Placename evidence suggests Garn llwyd means grey/holy cairn and Cae fundy stone/boundary oven/house. The tomb is ruined and the cairn is no longer present, but similarities to the Portal Dolmen and Cotswold Severn Tradition are present and it may be a hybrid type. There is a curvilinear kerbstone feature to the east, and a linear feature with a dogleg, and potential stone building remains visible in the geophysics results. (McFarlane and Phillips 2008)

The upper or incumbent stone is 12 foot long, and, at a mean, three and a half feet broad, the uprights or supporters are from four to five feet high, and the whole seems to be surrounded by a slight ditch and bank. Situated on a hill four miles north of the town of Caerwent (Davies, in Wakeman 1846)

Sources :
Philips, N and McFarlane, I , 2008 , Gaerllwyd, Shirenewton , Archaeology in Wales : 48 : 117-118
Wakeman T. , 1846 , Cromlech At Gaerllwyd, Newchurch, Near Caerwent, Monmouthshire , Archaeologia Cambrensis : 1 : 277
Webley D. , 1961 , Y Garn Llwyd, Newchurch wets, Monmouthshire: A Reassessment , The Bulletin of the Board of Celtic Studies : XIX pt.III : 255-258
Pm desc text/Evans EM/2003/GGAT 72 Prehistoric Funerary and Ritual Sites Project
01/MM Desc Text/Cadw AM107/Whittle E/1987/AM107
03/Desc Text/Cadw/Full Management Report/2005/Copy in further information file

Events :
E003524 : Gaerllwyd, Shirenewton (year : 2008)
E005828 : Gaerllwyd Neolithic Chambered Tomb (year : 2008)

Related records
National Monuments Record NPRN 93391 http://www.coflein.gov.uk/en/site/93391/details

Compiled date : 02-05-1988


March 28, 2025, 12:52 pm - HTML file produced from GGAT HER Charitable Trust Ltd. Heathfield House, Heathfield, Swansea SA1 Tel. 01792 655208; Fax 01792 474469 website: www.ggat.org.uk  email: her@ggat.org.uk Registered Charity no. 505609
Data supplied by in partnership with Local Authorities, Cadw and the partners of ENDEX © GGAT HER Charitable Trust, 2025 (and in part © Crown, 2025).