St Lythans burial chamber
| Welsh: Siambr Gladdu Llwyneliddon | |
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| Location | near St Lythans and Barry (Y Barri) |
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| Region | Vale of Glamorgan (Bro Morgannwg), Wales (Welsh: Cymru) |
| Coordinates | 51°26′33.11″N 3°17′41.68″W / 51.4425306°N 3.2949111°WCoordinates: 51°26′33.11″N 3°17′41.68″W / 51.4425306°N 3.2949111°W |
| Type | Dolmen |
| History | |
| Periods | Neolithic |
| Site notes | |
| Condition | some damage |
The St Lythans burial chamber (Welsh: Siambr Gladdu Llwyneliddon) is a single stone megalithic dolmen, built around 6,000 BP (before present) as part of a chambered long barrow, during the mid Neolithic period, in what is now known as the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales.
It lies about one km (0.62 miles) to the west of the hamlet of St Lythans, near Dyffryn Gardens. It also lies around one mile (1.6 km) south of Tinkinswood burial chamber, a more extensive cromlech that it may once have resembled, constructed during the same period.
The site is on pasture land, but pedestrian access is allowed and is free, with roadside parking available for 2–3 cars about 50 yards (46 m) from the site.
The dolmen, which has never been fully excavated, is maintained by Cadw (English: to keep), the Welsh Historic Environment Agency.
The burial chamber stands in a field, Maesyfelin (The Mill Field), often shared by a herd of cows, to the south of St Lythans Road, roughly one km (0.62 miles) west of the hamlet of St Lythans. Roadside parking is available, for 2—3 cars, about 50 yards (46 m) from the site, which is maintained by Cadw (to keep), the Welsh Historic Environment Agency. Access to the field, which slopes gently downwards towards the north west, is permitted, and is free, via a kissing gate. There is no wheelchair access, although there is an uninterrupted view of the site from the gate, about 50 yards (46 m) away.
This chamber tomb is a dolmen, the most common form of megalithic structure in Europe. It stands at the eastern end of a flat topped, 27 metres (89 ft) long, 11 metres (36 ft) wide earthen mound, forming part of a chambered long barrow. It is one of the Severn-Cotswold type, and consists of a cove of three upright stones (orthostats), supporting a large, flat, capstone. All the stones are mudstone, which, as with those used at Tinkinswood, were probably available locally. The capstone, which slopes downwards from south east to north west (the left side of the entrance towards the back, right), measures four metres (13 ft) long, three metres (10 ft) wide, and 0.7 metres (2.3 ft) thick. The insides of the two facing, rectangular, uprights have been smoothed off and there is a port-hole at the top of the triangular, rear stone, similar to some other dolmens, such as at Trethevy Quoit, in Cornwall. The burial chamber has a minimum internal height of 1.8 metres (5.9 ft) and is in an east/west alignment, with the entrance facing east. As with most cromlechs, it is likely that originally, the burial chamber would have had a forecourt immediately outside the entrance to the chamber and the chamber would have been covered by a mound of earth and smaller stones. This has either been eroded, or removed, over time, leaving only a much lower barrow behind the current structure. However, as the chamber is unusually tall, it is possible that the capstone was never fully covered.
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