Images of Wales

Sunday, 22 March 1998

Arthur's Stone
Gower, Glamorgan

Photography by John Ball - 15 March 1998
(with Agfa ePhoto307 digital camera)

Arthur's Stone is a remarkable Neolithic chambered tomb near the top of the
190 metre (610 foot) Cefn Bryn on the Gower peninsula. Its origin is shrouded
in mystery, including possible links with the legend of King Arthur.

Above: Looking westwards over the beautiful Three Cliffs Bay to the distant peak
of Cefn Bryn.

Above: Arthur's Stone sits in splendid isolation in a hollow near the top of Cefn Bryn.

Above: The capstone is said to weigh over 25 tonnes. Part of the stone is split off,
giving rise to various explanations such as the action of frost or lightning, a miller
in search of a millstone, and more romantically, the effect of King Arthur's sword!

Above: The capstone is supported on a number of smaller stones. One legend tells
that the stone began life as a pebble shed from King Arthur's shoe, another that the
stone rolls down to the sea to drink on New Year's Eve! In fact, the stone probably
marks the communal burial place of the first Gower farmers, 4500 years ago.

Source: A Guide to Gower (4th edition), published in 1979 by the Gower Society.