The Gop (, also known as Gop Cairn or ''Gop-y-Goleuni'') is a

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

monument lying within the Clwydian Range, northwest of Trelawnyd, in

Flintshire Flintshire () is a county in the north-east of Wales. It borders the Irish Sea to the north, the Dee Estuary to the north-east, the English county of Cheshire to the east, Wrexham County Borough to the south, and Denbighshire to the west. ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

Description

Oval in form, it is the second-largest Neolithic mound in Britain after Silbury Hill, in

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...

. Sitting on top of Gop Hill (823 feet), a natural outcrop of Carboniferous Limestone, the cairn mound is 75-80m in diameter and 12m high. There is evidence that there was a considerable amount of stone on the top of hill, but excavations have not uncovered a

burial chamber A chamber tomb is a tomb for burial used in many different cultures. In the case of individual burials, the chamber is thought to signify a higher status for the interred than a simple grave. Built from rock or sometimes wood, the chambers could ...

or other underground works, which may indicate that it was used as a look-out or

hill fort A hillfort is a type of fortification, fortified refuge or defended settlement located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typical of the late Bronze Age Europe, European Bronze Age and Iron Age Europe, Iron Age. So ...

. However prehistoric animal remains were found both in the mound itself and in Gop Cave below. The cave also contained human remains. In the 17th century, its prominent position allowed a

beacon A beacon is an intentionally conspicuous device designed to attract attention to a specific location. A common example is the lighthouse, which draws attention to a fixed point that can be used to navigate around obstacles or into port. More mode ...

to be placed there. Gop_hill_clwydian_range

References

The Megalithic Portal and Megalith Map
https://allowflowbe.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=389&action=edit

External links

Photograph of the mound with the entrance to Gop Cave in the foreground
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gop Archaeological sites in Flintshire Scheduled monuments in Flintshire Mountains and hills of Flintshire Prehistoric sites in Wales Mounds