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Burial Chamber at Pen-yr-Alltwen is a prehistoric chambered tomb located in Wales and protected by Cadw under reference GM514. The monument stands on bedrock of the South Wales Upper Coal Measures Formation, a Westphalian-age sequence of mudstone, siltstone, sandstone, coal, ironstone and ferricrete that underlies this part of Wales. This geological foundation would have presented both opportunities and constraints to the Neolithic or Bronze Age communities who built the tomb, as the variable rock strata affected the availability of stone for construction and the character of the surrounding landscape.
Chambered tombs of this type are among Britain's most enduring monuments, their stone-built chambers and passages designed to serve as collective burial places over generations. The chamber at Pen-yr-Alltwen represents an investment of considerable communal labour in a structure intended for long-term use by the local population.
The monument survives as a testament to prehistoric funerary practices and the cultural values of early farming communities in Wales. Its preservation under statutory protection reflects its significance as an archaeological and historical asset, contributing to our understanding of prehistoric settlement and social organisation in the region.
Burial Chamber at Pen-yr-Alltwen is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference GM514. View the official record →
Burial Chamber at Pen-yr-Alltwen is a prehistoric chambered tomb located in Wales and protected by Cadw under reference GM514.
Burial Chamber at Pen-yr-Alltwen dates from the prehistoric period, and is classified as a chambered tomb. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Burial Chamber at Pen-yr-Alltwen 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 GM514.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Gelli-Bwch Round Cairn (8.6 km), St Margaret's Chapel (9.7 km), Mynydd y Gaer (Lower) Camp (9.7 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Burial Chamber at Pen-yr-Alltwen's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Burial Chamber at Pen-yr-Alltwen stands on South Wales Upper Coal Measures Formation, bedrock that formed in the Westphalian. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone, sandstone, coal, ironstone and ferricrete.