Arthur's Stone is a Neolithic chambered tomb, or

dolmen A dolmen () or portal tomb is a type of single-chamber megalithic tomb, usually consisting of two or more upright megaliths supporting a large flat horizontal capstone or "table". Most date from the early Neolithic (40003000 BCE) and were some ...

, in Herefordshire, England. It is situated on the ridge line of a hill overlooking both the

Golden Valley, Herefordshire The Golden Valley is the name given to the valley of the River Dore in western Herefordshire, England. The valley is a picturesque area of gently rolling countryside. It lies in the lee of the Black Mountains, Wales. The main villages are Dorst ...

and the

Wye Valley The Wye Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB; cy, Dyffryn Gwy) is an internationally important protected landscape straddling the border between England and Wales. The River Wye ( cy, Afon Gwy) is the fourth-longest river in th ...

. The tomb dates from 3,700 BC – 2,700 BC.

Location

Arthur's Stone is located between the villages of Dorstone and

Bredwardine Bredwardine is a village and civil parish in the west of Herefordshire, England. Significant parish landmarks include a brick bridge over the River Wye, the historic ''Red Lion'' late 17th-century coaching inn, St Andrew's Church, and the site ...

, and more generally between

Hereford Hereford () is a cathedral city, civil parish and the county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, south-west of Worcester, England, Worcester and north-west of Gloucester. ...

to the east and

Hay-on-Wye Hay-on-Wye ( cy, Y Gelli Gandryll), simply known locally as "Hay" ( cy, Y Gelli), is a market town and community in Powys, Wales; it was historically in the county of Brecknockshire. With over twenty bookshops, it is often described as "the to ...

to the west, at Ordnance Survey . The tomb commands an elevated view to the south of the Golden Valley and the

Brecon Beacons The Brecon Beacons ( cy, Bannau Brycheiniog, ) are a mountain range in South Wales. In a narrow sense, the name refers to the range of Old Red Sandstone peaks which lie to the south of Brecon. Sometimes referred to as "the central Beacons" ...

in the distance, and is bounded to the north by a small road (Arthur's Stone Lane) which dissects what would originally have been the site of the tomb's elongated mound.

Description

The tomb is topped by a large capstone, estimated to weigh more than 25 tonnes. The capstone rests on nine uprights and there is a curved, long entrance passageway. To the north, there was once a cup-marked stone called the Quoit Stone. This can no longer be clearly seen, and now a stone to the south of the monument has become known as the Quoit Stone. The stones would originally have been buried within a mound, aligned north-south and of approximately 25 metres in length with an east-facing entrance and a south-facing false portal. The mound is now, however, almost completely eroded and the capstone is broken with a large section fallen from its underside. The site is defined and protected by a wooden fence. The site is seen as a northerly outlier of the well known Severn-Cotswold tomb Group of chambered tombs and one of five

Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several pa ...

tombs in the local area. The site appears to be oriented towards

Ysgyryd Fawr Ysgyryd Fawr ( en, Skirrid) is an easterly outlier of the Black Mountains in Wales, and forms the easternmost part of the Brecon Beacons National Park. The hill is often referred to locally as just The Skirrid. The smaller hill of Ysgyryd Fac ...

mountain in Wales.

Etymology

The tomb is one of many prehistoric monuments in western England and Wales to be linked with the legend of King Arthur. Some tales suggest the tomb was built to mark the location of one of

King Arthur King Arthur ( cy, Brenin Arthur, kw, Arthur Gernow, br, Roue Arzhur) is a legendary king of Britain, and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In the earliest traditions, Arthur appears as ...

's battles, while others tell that the stones were already present when Arthur slew a giant on the spot, who fell onto the stones and left indentations in one of them, which remain to this day. Others suggest the indentations on the Quoit Stone were left by Arthur's knees or elbows as he knelt there to pray.

History

During the

Wars of the Roses The Wars of the Roses (1455–1487), known at the time and for more than a century after as the Civil Wars, were a series of civil wars fought over control of the throne of England, English throne in the mid-to-late fifteenth century. These w ...

, a knight named Turberville was killed in a duel here by another knight, Thomas ap Griffith. On 17 September 1645, King Charles gathered his

army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

here and dined at the stone before spending the night at

Holme Lacy Holme Lacy is a village in the English county of Herefordshire. The population of the civil parish was 466 at the 2011 Census. Category It is a primarily rural village. Etymology Holme Lacy is not from Old Norse ''holmr'' "island" like other pla ...

. Until the mid 19th century, celebrations with dancing were held at the stone, and a

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul c ...

service used to be held there on the fourth Sunday in July.

References

External links

Arthur's Stone
English Heritage {{Authority control History of Herefordshire Locations associated with Arthurian legend Dolmens in England English Heritage sites in Herefordshire