Carreg Bica
Carreg Bica ( German "pointed stone" - also called Careg Bica , Hoat Stone or Maen Bradwen ) is a menhir ( English standing stone ) south of the mountain Mynydd Drumau, northeast of Birchgrove near Neath Port Talbot in West Glamorgan in Wales . A runndcairn of the same name lies at Elan Village in Powys .
The menhir probably dates from the Bronze Age (2300 to 800 BC). It is a monolith made of local sandstone with a rectangular base of 1.2 × 0.6 m. With its height of about 4.3 m to its sloping tip, it is one of the largest menhir in Wales, along with the Hirfaen Gwyddog .
In 1203 the Carreg Bica is mentioned as a boundary stone in a document from King John for William de Braose, 4th Baron of Bramber, a Cambodian-Norman nobleman from the House of Braose .
According to the historian David Rhys Phillips (1862–1952), a torc and a sword were found at the base of the stone . Today he stands at the side of a field gate in a field border. There are several Bronze Age burial mounds near Carreg Bica .
According to legend, he goes swimming in the River Neath ( Afon Nedd in Welsh ) on Easter morning . This is a legend associated with several menhirs in Wales including Maen Llia .
The menhir is a scheduled monument .
literature
- Vicki Cummings, Alasdair Whittle: Places of special virtue. Megaliths in the Neolithic landscapes of Wales. Oxbow, Oxford 2004, ISBN 1-84217-108-9
Web links
Coordinates: 51 ° 40 ′ 46 " N , 3 ° 50 ′ 44.6" W.