Scheduled MonumentsWalesPenmaen Burrows Burial Chamber
Prehistoric · Chambered Tomb

Penmaen Burrows Burial Chamber

Wales
Cadw SAM GM123
Period
Prehistoric
Site type
Chambered Tomb
Broad class
Religious, Ritual and Funerary
Nation
Wales
The designation
Reference
Cadw SAM GM123
Authority
Cadw
Designated
1964-12-14
Boundary

Scheduled area

© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Cadw

Overview

History & significance

Penmaen Burrows Burial Chamber is a prehistoric chambered tomb situated in Wales and protected by Cadw under reference GM123. The monument occupies ground underlain by Dinantian rocks of Mississippian age, a geological formation dominated by limestone with subsidiary sandstone and argillaceous strata that shaped the local landscape and provided the raw materials for construction. As a chambered tomb, the structure belongs to a widespread class of megalithic monuments erected across western Britain during the Neolithic period, serving as communal burial places for the dead and focal points for the living communities that built them.

The limestone bedrock beneath Penmaen Burrows would have afforded ready sources of stone for the monument's construction, though the precise form and dimensions of its chambers remain subject to the evidence on site. The architectural principles governing such tombs—oriented passages, stone-lined chambers, and substantial covering cairns—reflect both practical burial requirements and ritual or cosmological concerns held by prehistoric communities. The monument's survival to the present day, despite millennia of weathering and disturbance, testifies to the substantial engineering invested in its original construction.

Penmaen Burrows Burial Chamber is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference GM123. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Penmaen Burrows Burial Chamber?

Penmaen Burrows Burial Chamber is a prehistoric chambered tomb situated in Wales and protected by Cadw under reference GM123.

What period does Penmaen Burrows Burial Chamber date from?

Penmaen Burrows Burial Chamber 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.

Who is responsible for protecting Penmaen Burrows Burial Chamber?

Penmaen Burrows Burial Chamber 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 GM123.

What other scheduled monuments are near Penmaen Burrows Burial Chamber?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Penmaen Burrows Church (0 km), Penmaen Burrows Ringwork (0.3 km), Tower NE of Oxwich Castle (3.7 km).

Unlimited access

Everything a full report reveals about Penmaen Burrows Burial Chamber

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Penmaen Burrows Burial Chamber's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:

Overview
An interactive map of the location with every monument and battle plotted, and a plain-language history built only from what the record holds.
Monuments
The legally protected scheduled monuments around the location, each with its period, type and significance.
Battlefields
The battles and sieges fought on this ground, mapped and set on a timeline of the wider conflict.
Roman Britain
The Roman roads, forts and towns near here, and the Iron Age people who held the land before Rome arrived.
Civil War
The Civil War fighting, garrisons and recorded militaria in this area, woven into the arc of 1642 to 1651.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back hundreds of millions of years.
Local Names
What the street and field names around here actually mean, and the history buried inside them.
Historical Maps
Ordnance Survey maps from the 1800s, layered over the location as it stands today.
Literature
The books, county histories, charters and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.
Legal
The protected sites nearby and the metal-detecting, access and treasure laws that apply to this ground.
Spotlight
A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.
Target Zones
For detectorists: the most promising ground to search nearby, ranked by confidence, with what to expect.
Timeline
The whole story of the location told era by era, from prehistory to the present day.
First month just £4.99, then £9.99 a month. Unlimited locations, cancel anytime.

Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.

Start your Penmaen Burrows Burial Chamber report
Or see a real report first
The ground beneath

The bedrock under Penmaen Burrows Burial Chamber

Penmaen Burrows Burial Chamber stands on Dinantian Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Mississippian. The rock here is limestone with subordinate sandstone and argillaceous rocks.