![]() ![]() Portal dolmens are considered to be nationally important. As one of the few surviving field monument types of the Neolithic period, and due to their rarity, considerable age and longevity of construction and use, all Only about 20 portal dolmens are known nationally, concentrated in west Penwith, Cornwall, and in the north-west Oxfordshire Cotswolds, with a scatter between these. Many portal dolmens were re-used for urned cremations, especially during the Middle Bronze Age. ![]() At the few excavated sites, pits and postholes have been recorded within and in front of the chamber, containing charcoal and cremated bone some chamber contents of soil and stones may be original blocking deposits. Little is yet known about the form of the primary burial rites. Some sites have traces of a kerb around the cairn and certain sites show a forecourt area, edged by a facade of upright stones in a few examples. A capstone, often massive, covers the chamber, and some examples show traces of a low cairn or platform around the chamber. Where sufficiently well-preserved, they comprise a small closed rectangular chamber built from large stone slabs, with free-standing stones flanking the frontal slab of the chamber. As burial monuments of Britain's early farming communities, they are among the oldest visible field monuments to survive in the present landscape. Portal dolmens are funerary and ceremonial monuments of the Early and Middle Neolithic period, the dated examples showing construction in the period 3500- 2600 BC. Source: Historic England Reasons for Scheduling There is little surface evidence for an enclosing mound. ![]() There is debate as to whether one of the upright stones is natural. The chamber was excavated by Borlase in 1872, and he discovered a pit approximately 1m deep and a single flint flake. Shallow depressions on the surface of the capstone have been interpreted as either cup-marks (early prehistoric rock art) or natural features. The dolmen survives as two upright parallel orthostats supporting a large capstone enclosing an area measuring approximately 4m long, 2m wide and 1m high. The monument includes a portal dolmen called 'The Three Brothers of Grugith' or 'Grugwith' situated close to the summit of a prominent hill overlooking Goonhilly Downs. ![]()
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