Plas Newydd 

Megalithic Tombs - Anglesey

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SH 51995 69730 (GPS 25min main chamber)
Visited April 2002

PLEASE NOTE  Plas Newydd is on a private estate and public access is not normally allowed. Our sincere thanks to the estate manager for letting us visit this wonderful monument.

Plas Newydd is yet another impressive Anglesey tomb that defies classification. There are two chambers, each with a separate capstone, on a NE-SW axis. The northern chamber is the largest, the side stones have been lost, and its capstone is now supported by four stones at the northern end and two at the southern end. The capstone slopes up towards the NE which usually indicates the position of an entrance, but the row of surviving orthostats at the NE are not in a configuration typical of Portal Dolmen "entrances".
The southern tomb is much smaller, its chamber is tiny, barely large enough to hold one adult, unfortunately this has not deterred graffiti enthusiasts who have decorated the interior with red paint. It has been suggested that the southern chamber may have been a side chamber or entrance passage for the northern chamber, but this is unlikely as one of the two stones supporting the "back" of the larger chamber's capstone effectively blocks any access between the chambers. There are several stones protruding through the turf around the monument, but we could not make out any traces of the remains of a covering cairn. 

It is likely that the monument has suffered some disturbance in the eighteenth century when the area was landscaped during the construction of surrounding estate. Even in its present ruined condition, Plas Newydd is still a very attractive and imposing monument.

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