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Maen Cattwg is a prehistoric cup-marked stone located in Wales and protected by Cadw under reference GM176. Cup-marked stones are among the most enigmatic monuments of the British prehistoric record, typically created during the Neolithic or Bronze Age by pecking or grinding cupule depressions into natural rock outcrops. The function of such marks remains debated among archaeologists, with theories ranging from ritual or astronomical significance to territorial markers or shamanistic practice.
The stone sits upon the South Wales Upper Coal Measures Formation, a geological sequence of mudstone, siltstone and sandstone interspersed with coal and ironstone layers, deposited during the Westphalian period of the Carboniferous. This varied bedrock, resistant in places yet weathered in others, provided suitable stone for marking. The presence of ferricrete—iron-rich cemented material—in the surrounding geology would have created naturally hardened surfaces common in South Welsh upland areas.
Maen Cattwg contributes to the scattered distribution of cup-marked stones across Wales and the wider British Isles. These monuments remain difficult to date precisely without excavation, and their original contexts have often been lost to time. The stone's survival and protection reflect its recognised significance as evidence of prehistoric ritual or symbolic behaviour in the Welsh landscape.
Maen Cattwg (cup-marked stone) is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference GM176. View the official record →
Maen Cattwg is a prehistoric cup-marked stone located in Wales and protected by Cadw under reference GM176.
Maen Cattwg (cup-marked stone) dates from the prehistoric period, and is classified as a cup marked stone. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Maen Cattwg (cup-marked 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 GM176.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Garnedd Lwyd (7.3 km), Cross Ridge Dyke & Earthwork on Cefn Eglwysilan (7.7 km), Ring Cairn and Two Standing Stones on Coedpenmaen Common (8.6 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Maen Cattwg (cup-marked stone)'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.
Maen Cattwg (cup-marked stone) 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.