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A Study of Coetan Arthur

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A study of
C o e t a n  A r t h u r

Coetan Arthur (also known as Arthurs Quoit).
 A dolmen on the southwest coast of Wales 
on the St. Davids's head peninsular, 
in county of Pembrokeshire, Wales.
This impressive megalithic tomb dates from 
between 4000 to 3000 BC.
The dolmen, which is formed by two vertical 
megaliths erected to support a flat capstone,
is partially collapsed, but still impressive nonetheless.


Visit Date August 2022

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There are many ancient burial sites around the southwest of Wales
These burial sites are often marked with three or more uprights and a large capstone. Often this is all that is left of the site which would originally be covered with earth. This upright/capstone structure has been called a Dolmens or often also referred to here in Wales as a Cromlech., but my understanding is that Cromlech can also refer to a circular stone structure.
This structure should not be confused with Carreg Coeten Arthur which is also in Pembroke, and which will be covered in another blog soon.
The St Davids headland is full of ancient remains including signs of ancient field patterns, Neolithic enclosures, and defensive banks and ditches.
Perhaps the most impressive part of the burial chamber is the massive capstone, which is roughly 6m long and 2.5m wide. The upright stone supporting it (known as an orthostat) is about 1.5m high.
The site here overlooks Whitesands Bay at St, Davids and has a good view but is far enough from the main cliff not to be to battered by any storms that hit the coast.
It has been reported many visitors to the site that they found the site hard to find. I suspect that if you were only casually walking the coast path that this could be true but I found that the site could be seen from quite a distance when walking east to west which seems to be the most natural direction to be walking.


These ancient sites often have a legend attached to them and this one is no exception. The legend for Coetan Arthur states King Arthur himself chucked the stones from nearby Carn Llidi.





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A Study of Coetan Arthur
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A Study of Coetan Arthur

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