Carreg Samson (also known as ''Carreg Sampson'', ''Samson's Stone'', or the ''Longhouse'') is a 5000-year-old
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 p ...
dolmen located half a mile west of
Abercastle near the
Pembrokeshire Coast Path
The Pembrokeshire Coast Path ( cy, Llwybr Arfordir Sir Benfro), often called the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path, is a designated National Trail in Pembrokeshire, southwest Wales. Established in 1970, it is a long-distance walking route, mostly a ...
in
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
.
Name
It is called "Samson" because of a local legend that
Saint Samson of Dol placed the capstone in position with his little finger.
Description
Carreg Samson has a capstone, 4.7 metres by 2.7 metres and 1.0 metre thick.
The capstone rests on three of six stones 1.1 to 2.2 metres high.
The whole burial chamber was once covered by a mound of earth or stones and once these were removed stones were used to block the holes in the sides of the tomb so that it could be used as a shelter for sheep.
The site was excavated in 1968 which revealed four additional stone-holes, one having supported a further chamber stone, the others indicating a possible passage leading off to the northwest.
Slight traces of a covering cairn were found to the south and it was shown that the monument had been raised over a pit 0.8 metres deep, filled with clay and stones. Finds included a small quantity of burnt bone, pottery, and flints.
References
External links
{{European megaliths
Coast of Pembrokeshire
Dolmens in Wales
Prehistoric sites in Pembrokeshire
Monuments and memorials in Pembrokeshire