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The Four Stones is a prehistoric stone setting located in Wales and protected by Cadw under reference RD004. The monument comprises four standing stones arranged in a ritual or ceremonial configuration, typical of Neolithic or Bronze Age sacred landscapes. Such stone settings served purposes ranging from astronomical alignment to territorial markers or gathering places for dispersed communities.
The site sits upon Wenlock bedrock, composed of mudstone, siltstone and sandstone laid down during the Wenlock period of the Silurian, some 430 million years ago. This stable geological foundation provided solid ground for the erection and long-term stability of the standing stones. The local stone resources available in the Wenlock sequence would have offered suitable material for the monument's construction.
As a surviving example of prehistoric monumentality, The Four Stones demonstrates the enduring significance of stone settings within the Welsh landscape. The preservation of four substantial stones across millennia reflects both their original sturdy construction and the monument's continued cultural importance through successive periods of habitation and land use.
The Four Stones is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference RD004. View the official record →
The Four Stones is a prehistoric stone setting located in Wales and protected by Cadw under reference RD004.
The Four Stones dates from the prehistoric period, and is classified as a stone setting. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
The Four 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 RD004.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Worsell Wood cairn cemetery (3.2 km), Mound 150yds (140m) N of church (6 km), Churchyard cross in St Mary the Virgin's churchyard (6.1 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of The Four 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.
The Four Stones stands on Wenlock Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Wenlock. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.