Scheduled MonumentsWalesBattle Standing Stone
Prehistoric · Standing Stone

Battle Standing Stone

Breconshire, Wales
Cadw SAM BR138
Period
Prehistoric
Site type
Standing Stone
Broad class
Religious, Ritual and Funerary
Nation
Wales
Boundary

Scheduled area

© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Cadw

Overview

History & significance

Battle Standing Stone is a prehistoric standing stone located in Wales and protected by Cadw under reference BR138. The monument stands upon bedrock composed of Pridoli rocks, undifferentiated mudstone, siltstone and sandstone formations dating to the Pridoli epoch. This geological foundation provided the local material from which prehistoric communities may have sourced stone for their monuments, though the standing stone itself was likely selected for its size and durability rather than the specific properties of the underlying bedrock.

Standing stones of this type typically date to the Bronze Age or Neolithic period, serving functions that remain partly mysterious to modern archaeologists. They may have marked territorial boundaries, served as waymarkers across the landscape, or held ceremonial and spiritual significance for the communities that erected them. The stone's survival to the present day, despite millennia of exposure to Welsh weather and landscape change, attests to the skill and labour invested in its placement.

The monument's name references its location or historical associations, though specific details of any battles connected to it are not documented in surviving records. The standing stone remains an important element of Wales's prehistoric heritage, representing the enduring ambitions of ancient communities to create lasting monuments within their landscape.

Battle Standing Stone is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference BR138. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Battle Standing Stone?

Battle Standing Stone is a prehistoric standing stone located in Wales and protected by Cadw under reference BR138.

What period does Battle Standing Stone date from?

Battle Standing Stone dates from the prehistoric period, and is classified as a standing stone. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.

Who is responsible for protecting Battle Standing Stone?

Battle Standing Stone is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Cadw — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in Wales. The official designation reference is BR138.

What other scheduled monuments are near Battle Standing Stone?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Waunfaeog Hillfort (6.1 km), Enclosure West of Nant Cwm Llwch (6.4 km), Y Gyrn hut platform (N) (8.1 km).

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Everything a full report reveals about Battle Standing Stone

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Battle Standing Stone's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:

Overview
An interactive map of the location with every monument and battle plotted, and a plain-language history built only from what the record holds.
Monuments
The legally protected scheduled monuments around the location, each with its period, type and significance.
Battlefields
The battles and sieges fought on this ground, mapped and set on a timeline of the wider conflict.
Roman Britain
The Roman roads, forts and towns near here, and the Iron Age people who held the land before Rome arrived.
Civil War
The Civil War fighting, garrisons and recorded militaria in this area, woven into the arc of 1642 to 1651.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back hundreds of millions of years.
Local Names
What the street and field names around here actually mean, and the history buried inside them.
Historical Maps
Ordnance Survey maps from the 1800s, layered over the location as it stands today.
Literature
The books, county histories, charters and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.
Legal
The protected sites nearby and the metal-detecting, access and treasure laws that apply to this ground.
Spotlight
A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.
Target Zones
For detectorists: the most promising ground to search nearby, ranked by confidence, with what to expect.
Timeline
The whole story of the location told era by era, from prehistory to the present day.
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Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.

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The ground beneath

The bedrock under Battle Standing Stone

Battle Standing Stone stands on Pridoli Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Pridoli. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.