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Fonlief Hir Standing Stones is a prehistoric standing stone monument protected as a scheduled ancient monument by Cadw under reference ME057. Located in Wales, the stones occupy ground underlain by Middle Cambrian bedrock composed of mudstone, siltstone and sandstone, which emerged from shallow marine environments over 500 million years ago. The local geology would have been well known to the prehistoric communities who erected these monuments.
Standing stones of this type were commonly raised during the Neolithic and Bronze Age periods, serving purposes that ranged from territorial markers to ritual focal points within the landscape. The monument's name derives from Welsh, suggesting a cultural continuity of place-naming in the region from antiquity through to the medieval period and beyond. The specific characteristics of the stone material and its sourcing reflect the builders' knowledge of their immediate geology.
The monument survives as testimony to the ceremonial and social practices of prehistoric Wales. Its protection by Cadw ensures that this landscape feature remains available for study and public access, contributing to our understanding of how Neolithic and Bronze Age communities ordered and marked their environment across the Welsh countryside.
Fonlief Hir Standing Stones is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference ME057. View the official record →
Fonlief Hir Standing Stones is a prehistoric standing stone monument protected as a scheduled ancient monument by Cadw under reference ME057.
Fonlief Hir Standing Stones 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.
Fonlief Hir Standing Stones 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 ME057.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Cors-y-Gedol Settlements & Field System (8 km), Cors-y-Gedol Burial Chamber (8.2 km), Dyffryn Ardudwy Chambered Tomb (8.2 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Fonlief Hir Standing Stones'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.
Fonlief Hir Standing Stones stands on Middle Cambrian, bedrock that formed in the Middle Cambrian. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.