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Pant Ffos-yr-hebog Cup-Marked Stone is a Bronze Age ritual monument consisting of a natural rock surface decorated with cup marks—small, deliberately pecked circular depressions. The stone lies on bedrock of the South Wales Upper Coal Measures Formation, a geological sequence of mudstone, siltstone and sandstone laid down during the Westphalian period. This same coal-bearing strata, with its interspersed ironstone and ferricrete layers, would have been known to Bronze Age communities inhabiting the Welsh uplands.
Cup-marked stones are found across Britain and Ireland, typically dating to the Bronze Age, though their precise chronology and ritual purpose remain debated among archaeologists. They may have served as territorial markers, gathering points, or locations of ceremonial significance. The shallow cupules require considerable time and effort to create, suggesting the stones held particular importance to their makers.
The monument is protected by Cadw, the Welsh heritage protection organisation, under reference GM641, recognising its archaeological and cultural value as evidence of Bronze Age ritual practice in Wales. Such stones provide insight into the spiritual and social organisation of prehistoric Welsh communities, their relationship with the landscape, and their investment in marking significant places on the land.
Pant Ffos-yr-hebog Cup-Marked Stone is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference GM641. View the official record →
Pant Ffos-yr-hebog Cup-Marked Stone is a Bronze Age ritual monument consisting of a natural rock surface decorated with cup marks—small, deliberately pecked circular depressions. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Cadw under reference GM641.
Pant Ffos-yr-hebog Cup-Marked Stone dates from the bronze age period, and is classified as a cup marked stone. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Pant Ffos-yr-hebog 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 GM641.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Capel Gwladys (3.3 km), Coed Cae Round Cairns (3.5 km), Fforest Gwladys Roman practice camp (3.7 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Pant Ffos-yr-hebog 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.
Pant Ffos-yr-hebog 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.