Carreg Samson

Carreg Samson is a Neolithic dolmen dating back five thousand years. It stands half a mile west of Abercastle on the Pembrokeshire Coast Path in Wales. The site is also known as Samson’s Stone or the Longhouse. A local legend says Saint Samson of Dol placed the huge capstone in position with a single finger. The dolmen consists of a massive capstone resting on three upright stones.

The capstone measures nearly five metres by three metres and is over a metre thick. Excavations in 1968 revealed four more stone-holes, one for an extra chamber stone and others suggesting a passage to the northwest. Traces of the original earthen mound were found to the south, and the monument was built over a pit filled with clay and stones. Finds included burnt bone, pottery and flints, showing it was once a burial place.

Visitors see the three remaining uprights supporting the giant capstone. The site sits in open grassland near the coastal path, with views over the sea. The stones once formed a burial chamber covered by a mound, now removed. Holes in the sides were later blocked to shelter sheep. The remains of the covering cairn lie to the south of the dolmen.