1. This is an enigmatic boulder-walled enclosure, measuring approximately 18m by 9.0m, aligned generally east-west. The perimeter wall is defined by a loose alignment of rough boulders, none higher than 0.5m, preserved best on the north side. To serve as a functional boundary the wall would need to have been augmented by hurdles or timberwork.

The enclosure is set on the isthmus of the eastern promontory of The Neck in the shadow of a steep scarp to the west. It lies directly west of the livestock 'ramp' constructed on the north-east point of The Neck to facilitate the disembarking of animals onto the island for grazing in historic times. As The Churchyard does not immediately appear to have a prehistoric or Bronze Age ritual parallel, one possible interpretation is that it was a functional livestock enclosure constructed at the narrow isthmus of land where it was easier to funnel and control animals. It is matched by a similar rectangular boulder-walled enclosure on the matching isthmus on the west of The Neck. The enclosure remains undated and untested by excavation.

Field visit by TGD and LB on 18th August 2010.

T. Driver, RCAHMW, 2nd September 2010.

2. Visited and surveyed for photogrammetry by Louise Barker, Julian Whitewright and Toby Driver for the Royal Commission, 3rd April 2025. The stone setting remains enignmatic, but reappraisal by the team noted that there are not enough upright stones in the setting to form a coherent agricultural or pastoral enclosure. Nor is there any evidence that this structure would have been robbed of stone in any subsequent era. The 'matching' stone building on the isthmus west of the The Neck noted in 2010 is quite different in construction. Therefore this 'Churchyard' stone setting may well be an unusual ritual monument.

Toby Driver, RCAHMW, April 2025

Site Record

The Churchyard, stone setting, The Neck, Skomer Island