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<< Our Photo Pages >> Cist Cerrig - Portal Tomb in Wales in Gwynedd

Submitted by TimPrevett on Sunday, 21 July 2002  Page Views: 17806

Neolithic and Bronze AgeSite Name: Cist Cerrig Alternative Name: Cist Gerrig
Country: Wales County: Gwynedd Type: Portal Tomb
Nearest Town: Porthmadog  Nearest Village: Morfa Bychan
Map Ref: SH54333841  Landranger Map Number: 124
Latitude: 52.923289N  Longitude: 4.168288W
Condition:
5Perfect
4Almost Perfect
3Reasonable but with some damage
2Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site
1Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks
0No data.
-1Completely destroyed
2 Ambience:
5Superb
4Good
3Ordinary
2Not Good
1Awful
0No data.
4 Access:
5Can be driven to, probably with disabled access
4Short walk on a footpath
3Requiring a bit more of a walk
2A long walk
1In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find
0No data.
1 Accuracy:
5co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates
4co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map
3co-ordinates scaled from a bad map
2co-ordinates of the nearest village
1co-ordinates of the nearest town
0no data
5

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Cist Cerrig
Cist Cerrig submitted by vagabondnma : This view is looking South East and intersestingly enough does not view Moel Goedog. the low hill is in the way. Does Moel Goedog not interset the builders or is it not yet important? (Vote or comment on this photo)
Burial Chamber(Dolmen) in Gwynedd

Contributed by vagabondnma on Saturday, 09 April 2005
According to the Penguin guide to prehistoric England and Wales, quoting F. Lynch in Megalithic Enquiries (1969): "Only three stones, looking like a great armchair, survive of this fine portal dolmen, whose burial chamber lay to the west. The two uprights of the portal and the door slab survive. No trace of the covering cairn remains. Twenty three meters to the south east is an outcrop of rock with a slopping face on which 15 cup marks can be traced. Study shows that these have been pecked rather than ground out of the rock surface."
It's a wonderful site - very odd looking. But it is VERY DIFFICULT to get to! I came from Morfa Bychan across the Easterly public footpath acrosss the golf course. After that the path was a stream and the 'sign posts' were handy hinters at most, this was an unpleasant journey. Gorse bushes pricked you and the ground kept trying to dislocate my ankles. The path is not at all clear (- take a 1:25 map and a compass) Eventually after Ty'n-myndd the path got better, but then the real problems began.
Cist Cerrig, according to the map, lies in a field next to a field that is next to a public footpath. Fine. The first field is easy to cross, then you get to the field with the site in it. It is a Very High Wall with DOUBLE BARBED WIRE!! Try to go round it and you either meet a thick wood or gorse bushes. Typical Welsh farmers (from my experience) - I know there is no official path, but this is an ancient site of NATIONAL importance. To get there you have to scale (and risk damaging) a high dry stone wall). Usually, I'd refrain, but this was a red rag to a bull.
I saw none of the 'Cup Marks' mentioned by Lynch, but the rocks did seem far closer than 23 meters away. I checked those on the other side of the field wall - more likely to be the 23m distance - but no joy. Maybe I didn't look hard enough, or maybe they have been grassed over.
I could not see Goel Moedog to the South East which was a surprise. The alignment of the surviving stones is that they face North west and South East (and the hard to find cup marks).
The only other way to get access is through the farm, and across the far lower walls - I guess you'll have to ask the farmer - good luck!
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Cist Cerrig
Cist Cerrig submitted by Postman : Later in the morning , winter solstice 2010 (3 comments - Vote or comment on this photo)

Cist Cerrig
Cist Cerrig submitted by Penbron : Cist Cerrig sits proudly and nestles below Moel Y Gest. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Cist Cerrig
Cist Cerrig submitted by Horatio : Rear view, totally forgot to look for the cup mark...darn it.. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Cist Cerrig
Cist Cerrig submitted by Horatio : I know this is missing the capstone but this is probably makes it that more interesting? (2 comments - Vote or comment on this photo)

Cist Cerrig
Cist Cerrig submitted by Postman : Cist Cerrig looks over to the Lleyn peninsula, and the castle looks back. (2 comments - Vote or comment on this photo)

Cist Cerrig
Cist Cerrig submitted by Bladup : Cist Cerrig with Moel-y-Gest in the background.

Cist Cerrig
Cist Cerrig submitted by Bladup : Cist Cerrig.

Cist Cerrig
Cist Cerrig submitted by Bladup : The wonderful Cist Cerrig, It would be one of the best if it still had it's capstone [if it ever had one].

Cist Cerrig
Cist Cerrig submitted by vagabondnma : This is the view North East towards Moel-y-Gest. There's a (I guess later) hill fort on top. Having walked this far I'd hate to try to have to go any further and invade the fort - and this (today) is a time when the sheep have prevented any trees from growing!

Cist Cerrig
Cist Cerrig submitted by TAlanJones : Cist Cerrig in black & white.

Cist Cerrig
Cist Cerrig submitted by Bladup : Cist Cerrig.

Cist Cerrig
Cist Cerrig submitted by Penbron : Moel Y Gest beckons above Cist Cerrig

Cist Cerrig
Cist Cerrig submitted by Bladup : In the foreground is the arc of a hut circle [SH54133837] and in the background you can see Cist Cerrig.

Cist Cerrig
Cist Cerrig submitted by TimPrevett : Showing the location of the cupmark. I found what I am convinced is a cup mark on the east side of the wall from the remains of the portal, set into a flat protruding part of the natural outcrop. I had wanted to think this may have been part of the dolmen's capstone, but it appears to be part of the natural formation. Further research and communication will happen regarding this. This likely cupma...

Cist Cerrig
Cist Cerrig submitted by TimPrevett : I found what I am convinced is a cup mark on the east side of the wall from the remains of the portal, set into a flat protruding part of the natural outcrop. I had wanted to think this may have been part of the dolmen's capstone, but it appears to be part of the natural formation. Further research and communication will happen regarding this. This likely cupmark is visible beneath a head sized pi... (2 comments)

Cist Cerrig
Cist Cerrig submitted by vagabondnma : "An archair" is some people's description, but to me it's more like a winged creature. This is looking North West (i.e. from the south east)

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Nearby sites listing. In the following links * = Image available
 203m WSW 257° Enclosed Hut Group near Ty Mawr* Ancient Village or Settlement (SH5413038370)
 281m ESE 105° Hut Circle East of Cist Gerrig* Ancient Village or Settlement (SH5460038330)
 537m NE 42° Hut Circle West of Moel Y Gest Ancient Village or Settlement (SH547388)
 750m NE 48° Moel Y Gest Hillfort* Hillfort (SH549389)
 1.0km SW 236° The Treflys Stone* Sculptured Stone (SH53453785)
 1.1km NE 50° Hut Circle North of Moel Y Gest* Ancient Village or Settlement (SH552391)
 2.0km ESE 106° Parc Y Borth Enclosed Hut Circle Settlement* Ancient Village or Settlement (SH562378)
 2.1km NW 306° Trefllys* Standing Stone (Menhir) (SH52663968)
 2.5km NNE 16° Hut circles west of Allt Wen* Ancient Village or Settlement (SH551408)
 2.6km ENE 59° Porthmadog Eisteddfod Stone Circle* Modern Stone Circle etc (SH56583966)
 2.7km N 8° Cairns east of Graig Y Gesail* Cairn (SH548411)
 2.9km N 6° Hut Circle near Graig Y Gesail* Ancient Village or Settlement (SH547413)
 2.9km N 9° Hut Group West of Cwm Mawr Ancient Village or Settlement (SH549413)
 3.0km N 9° Cwm Mawr Hut Group Ancient Village or Settlement (SH54904135)
 3.1km NNE 16° Cwm Mawr Stone Circle (SH553414)
 3.2km W 265° Caer-Dyni* Burial Chamber or Dolmen (SH51103821)
 3.7km NE 41° Fach Goch* Standing Stone (Menhir) (SH56844115)
 3.8km WNW 292° Braich y Saint Stones* Standing Stones (SH5086239902)
 3.9km NNE 13° Cerrig Cae-glan-yr-afon* Marker Stone (SH55324220)
 4.1km NE 35° Hendre Seler Hut Circle* Ancient Village or Settlement (SH5680041730)
 4.2km WNW 281° Moel Ednyfed Hillfort* Hillfort (SH5018039370)
 4.3km NW 324° Garnedd-hir Modern Dolmen* Modern Stone Circle etc (SH5192441988)
 4.3km N 5° Cefn Coch (Gwynedd)* Stone Circle (SH548427)
 4.4km N 6° Meini Herion Stone* Standing Stone (Menhir) (SH54914276)
 4.6km WNW 292° Bryn Braich y Saint Carved Stone* Rock Art (SH5012040232)
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"Cist Cerrig" | Login/Create an Account | 8 News and Comments
  
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Re: Cist Cerrig by Anonymous on Thursday, 04 August 2022
We followed the route suggested by rogerkread which was sort of ok but means you still have to scale a stone wall dividing two farms near the end. This is possible, if you find the right place but not ideal.

The Cist and the cup marks are actually on the land of the Ty Mawr farm and when you look back down towards the farm buildings, from the Cist, there looks to be a much easier route, on much better kept land, through gateways up from this farm. There is a public right of way to Ty Mawr farm but I guess you would need permission from the owner to go up to the Cist.

Ian Wood.
[ Reply to This ]

Re: Cist Cerrig by Andy B on Wednesday, 04 April 2018
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Coflein
http://www.coflein.gov.uk/en/site/95345/details/burial-chamber-cist-gerrig
[ Reply to This ]

Re: Cist Cerrig by confusedfish on Friday, 11 September 2015
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The cup marks are quite obvious in the large natural slab outcrop with tree which is just uphill from the site in the same field.
[ Reply to This ]

Re: Cist Cerrig and hillfort by Anonymous on Friday, 11 November 2011
If the hillfort of Moel y Gest is on the top Western side looking down over Cist y Gerrig, what is above, midway along the quarry. There appears to be a Rampart with a circular building and anex off. The wall then seems to run over the top towards the south. I've checked Google Earth after my tramplings, the mid saddle section, it's quite clearly there. Any one help??
[ Reply to This ]

Re: Cist Cerrig by rogerkread on Tuesday, 28 June 2011
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Only try the approach suggested by vagabondnma if you like a challenge! It is actually easy to reach. Take the road (walking!) from Morfa Bychan leading to the camp site, the third of the rights-of-way marked on the map, on the right after you have passed the golf course if you are coming from Porthmadog. Follow the lane to the buildings at Tyddyn-adi and leave via the gate above you on the right. Go across one field following the obvious path and bear left at a junction of ways, the main path though you are leaving the r o w here. Follow this track as it winds until you go through a cross wall. Bear left towards another wall and you should see Cist Cerreg on the other side. Currently it is easy to cross this wall close to the dwarf (but obvious) oak tree which is probably just to the north of where you first hit the wall. A site WELL worth visiting.
[ Reply to This ]

Re: Cist Cerrig by Anonymous on Monday, 04 September 2006
Hi Tim,

There are 12 (or more) cupmarks arranged in a vertical line due west of the Cist Cerrig site. The line appears to extend underneath the turf. The cupmarks, each around 5cm in diameter are located on a near vertical panel which is the nearest rock outcrop to the burial chamber. They are difficult to see and are best approached in the morning.

George Nash
[ Reply to This ]
    Re: Cist Cerrig by Anonymous on Thursday, 04 August 2022
    Actually the cup marks are EAST of the Cist, not West. They are on the natural rock face below a gnarled old oak tree which seems to be growing out of the rock.
    [ Reply to This ]

Re: Cist Cerrig by vagabondnma on Saturday, 09 April 2005
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According to the Penguin guide to prehistoric England and Wales, quoting F. Lynch in Megalithic Enquiries (1969): "Only three stones, looking like a great armchair, survive of this fine portal dolmen, whose burial chamber lay to the west. The two uprights of the portal and the door slab survive. No trace of the covering cairn remains. Twenty three meters to the south east is an outcrop of rock with a slopping face on which 15 cup marks can be traced. Study shows that these have been pecked rather than ground out of the rock surface."

It's a wonderful site - very odd looking. But it is VERY DIFFICULT to get to! I came from Morfa Bychan across the Easterly public footpath acrosss the golf course. After that the path was a stream and the 'sign posts' were handy hinters at most, this was an unpleasant journey. Gorse bushes pricked you and the ground kept trying to dislocate my ankles. The path is not at all clear (- take a 1:25 map and a compass) Eventually after Ty'n-myndd the path got better, but then the real problems began.

Cist Cerrig, according to the map, lies in a field next to a field that is next to a public footpath. Fine. The first field is easy to cross, then you get to the field with the site in it. It is a Very High Wall with DOUBLE BARBED WIRE!! Try to go round it and you either meet a thick wood or gorse bushes. Typical Welsh farmers (from my experience) - I know there is no official path, but this is an ancient site of NATIONAL importance. To get there you have to scale (and risk damaging) a high dry stone wall). Usually, I'd refrain, but this was a red rag to a bull.

I saw none of the 'Cup Marks' mentioned by Lynch, but the rocks did seem far closer than 23 meters away. I checked those on the other side of the field wall - more likely to be the 23m distance - but no joy. Maybe I didn't look hard enough, or maybe they have been grassed over.

I could not see Goel Moedog to the South East which was a surprise. The alignment of the surviving stones is that they face North west and South East (and the hard to find cup marks).

The only other way to get access is through the farm, and across the far lower walls - I guess you'll have to ask the farmer - good luck!
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