At a little under thirty miles from Ross-on-Wye by road, Arthur's Stone, Herefordshire is further afield than most of the other 'local' places of interest I have included on this web site. However, if you have an interest in prehistory, this stone age burial mound is well worth the three quarters of an hour drive to see.

Arthur's Stone, is a burial chamber of the 'multi-chamber' variety of the Neolithic Period and dates somewhere between approximately 3700 to 2700 BC. The 'Neolithic Period' or 'New Stone Age' was the period of time during which people had begun to live in small communities and farm the land but had not yet discovered the use of metal. Tombs like this were used to bury the dead from such communities and many spanned the generations. With only simple stone tools available, the raising of the roof on Arthur's Stone must have been a considerable feat! The mound which once covered the tomb has now largely eroded away. The roof has partially collapsed and some of the stones were removed during the 19th Century, so it's not only inventing the 'Christmas Tree' that you can blame the Victorians for.

The tomb is named Arthur's Stone because, according to folklore, it marks the spot of one of King Arthur's battles. This legend however dates from thousands of years after the stone tomb was erected.

If you have GPS available, Arthur's Stone can be located at the precise National Grid Reference: SO 31891 / 43129.

Other standing stones and burial chambers close by include: The Queen Stone * The Staunton Longstone * Harold's Stones