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Maen Colman is an early medieval cross-marked stone located in Wales and protected as a scheduled monument by Cadw under reference PE203. The stone bears an incised cross, a characteristic feature of early Christian monuments from the early medieval period, likely dating between the 5th and 9th centuries. Such stones frequently marked significant locations within early Christian communities, serving purposes ranging from waymarkers to territorial boundaries or burial sites.
The monument sits upon Ashgill Rocks, an undifferentiated sequence of mudstone, siltstone and sandstone deposited during the Ashgill period of the Ordovician era. This local geology would have provided the stone from which the cross was incised, making it a direct expression of the landscape's geology shaped by human purpose.
Cross-marked stones of this type represent a crucial phase in Wales's Christian heritage, when the religion's material culture was beginning to establish itself in the landscape. The simplicity of Maen Colman's carving reflects the restrained artistic tradition of the period, when incised linear designs dominated early Christian stonework across Britain and Ireland before more elaborate sculptural forms emerged.
Maen Colman is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference PE203. View the official record →
Maen Colman is an early medieval cross-marked stone located in Wales and protected as a scheduled monument by Cadw under reference PE203.
Maen Colman dates from the early medieval period, and is classified as a cross-marked stone. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Maen Colman 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 PE203.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Rhyd-y-Gath Pillar Cross (7 km), Castle Mound, Llanfyrnach (7 km), Llanfyrnach Standing Stones (7.2 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Maen Colman'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 Colman stands on Ashgill Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Ashgill. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.