Maen Llia

Maen Llia is a standing stone on open moorland in the Brecon Beacons National Park in Powys, Wales. It stands on a small mound made of stone and earth beside a minor road north of the village of Ystradfellte. The stone is about three and a half metres high and nearly three metres wide, with moss on its surface. It is shaped roughly like a diamond and dates from the Bronze Age or later Neolithic period. Nearby lie a low heather-covered henge, a recumbent stone row and a cairn, all arranged in a precise geometric pattern. The site is worth visiting because the arrangement of stones forms unique geometry found nowhere else in the world. Some features of this pattern appear at Stonehenge, but the full design at Maen Llia is distinct. The stones also show possible alignments with major and minor lunar standstills, suggesting an ancient interest in the moon’s movements. On two days each year the setting sun’s shadow reaches the Afon Llia river while the rising sun’s shadow touches a stone ninety feet to the east. This happens only on those two days. A visitor finds the stone standing alone on the moor with views across the surrounding hills. The nearby henge, stone row and cairn can be reached by walking short distances over heather and grass. The minor road offers a short walk from a car park, and the landscape is quiet except for the wind and occasional birds. The stone’s shadow stretches far across the moor when the sun is low in the evening sky from April to September.