Margam Stones Museum is a small Victorian schoolhouse near Port Talbot, South Wales, which now provides a home for one of the most important collections of Celtic stone crosses in Britain. All originally found within the locality of Margam, and mostly assembled as a collection in the 19th century, they provide enduring testimony to a Welsh Christian culture between the 6th and 16th centuries. The striking Cross of Conbelin is the most celebrated example. From around 1000 AD, it is a huge disc cross with Celtic interlace and plaitwork patterns, figurative scenes including a hunting scene, and inscriptions telling us who made it and who erected it. There are 17 early Christian stones, plus 11 memorials and other stones from the post-Norman periods. The museum is run by Cadw, the Welsh historic sites agency, and is close to Margam Abbey Church and the ruins of the Abbey buildings.
Access Postcode: SA13 2TA. Access road is just north of J38 of the M4, south-east of Port Talbot. There is a car park for visitors to the Abbey, Museum and Abbots Kitchen Restaurant.
History of the museum Margam Abbey was a Cistercian Abbey founded in 1147, and the nave survives as Margam Parish Church. Upon its dissolution in 1536 the Mansel family acquired it, and built a mansion in the grounds. In 1786 it passed by marriage to the Talbot family of Lacock, Wiltshire, and it is they, during the 19th century, who began to gather together various stone crosses and standing stones in the locality. Initially they were placed in the mansion grounds. In 1892 Emily Talbot gave them to the nation, in the care of the Commissioner of Public Works. In 1932 they were moved into their present building, a former Church schoolhouse close to Margam Abbey Church. Other stones from the Abbey and the local area were added to the collection, which is now in the care of Cadw.Sign boards at the museum, undated, viewed in the Museum in June 2012
The Stones
Of the 30 or so ancient carved stones in the museum, 17 are pre-Norman, and are displayed on the ground floor. The remainder are Margam Abbey memorials, housed in the upper gallery, and are mainly tomb slabs. They include Cistercian and post-reformation memorials.
The pre-Norman stones form a distinct local group of early Christian carvings and inscribed text, and are described as one of the most important such collections in Britain. Ten of these stones originate from Margam and its outlying settlements. Four others came from the area that became the Port Talbot steelworks, and three are from the hills and farms of the wider area.
The stones in the museum are part of a much larger group of carved and inscribed stones found across Glamorgan dating to the early Christian centuries. They can be classified into three groupings:
Latin inscribed memorials These date from 450 to 650 AD, and indicate an early Welsh Christian culture. The three stone pillars in the museum provide early text including a Welsh family tree, and a stone with both Latin and Ogham inscriptions. Cross inscribed slabs Dating from 600 to 900 AD and crudely produced compared to the sculptured crosses, they have outline crosses cut into the stone. Sculptured crosses and cross slabs From 900 to 1100 AD, these have detailed patterns of lattice or plaitwork, and include a number of inscriptions in Latin. They are the most visually dramatic group within the museum, and are the bulk of the pre-Norman collection.
Latin inscribed memorials
No. 1. Roman Milepost and post-Roman memorial
The milestone dates to 309–313, the dates for Emperor Maximinus. It was turned upside-down and re-used in the 6th century, when a memorial to Cantusus was inscribed. It is a sandstone pillar, high, and by , first noted in 1839.Celtic Inscribed Stones Project – Roman Milepost PRTT1/1 1999, ucl.ac.uk/archaeology/cisp. Accessed 21 June 2012 Inscription, Side A IMPC[easar] FLA[vio]MAX MINO INVIC TO AV GVS[to] In expanded form this translates as '(Set up in the reign of) the Emperor Caesar Flavius Valerius Maximinus, the Unconquered, Augustus'. Inscription Side B HIC IACIT CANTVSVS PATER PAVLINVS translates as 'Here lies Cantusus – his father was Paulinus.' Location It was found in 1839 at the Roman Road near Port Talbot. The missing pieces (top corner and lower tip) were lost soon after discovery, but a full transcription of both sides had been made.
No. 2. Stone of Pumpeius Carantorius This stone is also known as the Pumpeius Stone,Ordnance Survey of Great Britain New Popular Edition, Sheet 153 – Swansea, 1945 the Kenfig Stone, and by local tradition 'Bêdh Morgan Morganwg' (The sepulchre of Prince Morgan).Celtic Inscribed Stones Project – Pumpeius stone KELFG1 1999, ucl.ac.uk/archaeology/cisp. Accessed 21 June 2012 It was first recorded in 1578. A squared pillar of Old Red Sandstone, tall, it contains both Latin and Ogham scripts. Two areas of Ogham script appear, written as notches along the side of the stone, on the same face as the Latin name. Date6th century Inscription Latin: PUMPEIVS CARANTORIVS (An expansion of this gives '[The stone of] Pumpeius, [son of] Carantorius'. These are a Roman and a Latinised British name.) Ogham (top left) transliterates as P[AM]P[E]S (taken to be a repetition of 'Pumpeius') Ogham (right side) ROL[ACU]N M[A]Q ILL[U]NA (translated as 'Rolacun son of Illuna', two Irish names) Location The stone previously stood beside Water Street, Kenfig, near Eglwys Nunydd, a ruined church south of Margam. (Coordinates , It may have been nearer the ruined church until the 18th century. It was moved from its roadside location to the museum some time between 1928 and 1945.
No. 3. Bodvoc Stone A stone pillar also known as 'The Margam Stone', and 'Carreg Lythyrenog'. It originates from a nearby mountain location, set into a prehistoric burial mound, where a replica now stands. It was first documented in 1578, and local folk-lore declared that anyone reading the inscription would die soon afterwards.Celtic Inscribed Stones Project – Bodvoc Stone MARG1/1, ucl.ac.uk/archaeology/cisp. Accessed 21 June 2012 It is a stone pillar, high, with four lines of Latin inscription and an incised cross. On the back there is an Ordnance Survey bench mark, and various more recent carvings. It was moved to the museum before 1945. Date Late 6th or early 7th century InscriptionBODVOCI HIC IACIT FILIUS CATOTIGIRNI PRONEPUS ETERNALI VEDOMAVI translates as '[The Stone] of Bodvoc. Here he lies, son of Cattegern [or Cattegirn], and great-grandson of Eternalis Vedomavus'.Coflein.gov.uk Bodvoc record Accessed 17 June decoration A small incised Maltese cross is on the top surface of the pillar. This may be of the same date as the inscription. Location It originally stood on a cairn on Margam Mountain, between Bridgend and Maesteg. The Ordnance Survey cut a bench mark on it, and graffiti was also carved onto the stone, before it was moved to the museum, with a replica replacing it at its original location (coordinates , ).
Cross inscribed slabs
These date from 600 to 900 AD and are crudely produced compared to the later sculptured crosses. Several of the Margam stones feature these incised carvings, including No 3, and the back of No 13. Only No 4 falls purely within this category.
No. 4. Pillar of Thomas A tall cylindrical stone pillar with the top broken and missing. Three outline Latin crosses are cut in, and a short inscription. The pillar is high, with a diameter of , tapering slightly towards the base. It was discovered 'under a hedge' at Cwrt Uchaf Farm in 1857, before being moved to join the Margam collection.Celtic Inscribed Stones Project – Pillar of Thomas PRTT2/1 1999, ucl.ac.uk/archaeology/cisp. (Accessed 26 June 2012) Date 8th to early 9th century Inscription TO ME 'Thomas' (implying 'The cross of Thomas', which could be a reference to the apostle or a local namesake.) Location It is from Cwrt Uchaf Farm, Port Talbot (Now under the steelworks).
Sculptured crosses and cross slabs These date from 900 to 1100 AD, and form the great majority of the Margam early Christian collection. Seven of them are from the immediate environs of Margam, and three are from the same location as the Pillar of Thomas, implying perhaps two pre-Norman monastic establishments in the area, using the local sandstone to create distinctive Celtic stone sculpture.
No. 5. Cross of Einion The earliest of the Glamorgan disc-headed crosses (along with one at Llantwit Major). The cross and stem have intricate lattice patterns with an inscription in insular majuscule script. First mention of this cross was in 1873, by which time it was in the Abbey Chapter house collection. It measures high, wide and thick, made from locally occurring Pennant sandstone.Celtic Inscribed Stones Project: Cross of Einion: MARG2/1 '(Euniaun Stone)' 1999 ucl.ac.uk/archaeology/cisp, accessed 20 May 2018 The circular head of the cross has been roughly cut back to make it a more even shape for re-use as building material. Datelate 9th century Decoration Square headed ringed cross, Geometric ribbon interlace and geometric key pattern. Inscription CRUX XPI +ENNIAUN P[RO] ANIMA GUORGORET FECIT 'The Cross of Christ +Enniaun For the soul of Guorgorest Had this made' LocationMargam. This provides the earliest evidence of a Christian Monastery at this site.
No. 6. Cross of Grutne A disc-headed sculptured cross, with an inscription which fills the cross stem. First mentioned in 1697, it was in Margam Abbey Churchyard, south of the Church, until it was moved into the museum.Celtic Inscribed Stones Project:Cross of Grutne: MARG2/2 '(Grutne stone)' 1999 ucl.ac.uk/archaeology/cisp, accessed 20 May 2018 It is high, wide and thick, made from locally occurring Pennant sandstone. The cross head is in diameter. It is made from a single piece of Pennant sandstone, although a thin tenon on its base suggests it was made to fit into a pedestal socket. Stylistically the splayed arms and wide circular armpits are similar to 10th-century crosses from the north of England.
Date: 10th century InscriptionI[N] NOMI NE D[E]IS UM[M]I CRUX CRITDI PROP ARABIT GRUTNE PRO AN[I]MA AHEST 'In the name of God the most High This cross of Christ was erected by Grutne for the soul of Ahest' Location Margam Churchyard
No. 7. Cross of Conbelin The largest of the Margam Stones, and with the most decorative and figurative carvings, the RCAHMW describe it as "the most impressive of the monuments of this category in the county, if not in all Wales".Royal Commission on Ancient and Historical Monuments in Wales (1976) An Inventory of the Ancient Monuments in Glamorgan Volume 1: Pre-Norman. Part II: The Early Christian Period. Cardiff: HMSO. (Quoted in Celtic Inscribed Stones Project 1999, ucl.ac.uk/archaeology/cisp) It has an immense stone wheel-cross with knot-work arcs, plaitwork cross, and a central boss. The shaft includes carved figures flanking the cross, taken to be St John holding his gospel, and the virgin Mary. This is set into a massive stone pedestal block with intricate geometrical patterns and a hunting scene which would originally have formed the front, but was at some point reversed, so is now at the back of the pedestal. Both parts are made from Pennant sandstone and it has been known traditionally as 'The Sanctuary Stone'.Celtic Inscribed Stones Project 1999, Cross of Conbelin, MARG2/3Celtic Inscribed Stones Project (CISP) Database MARG2/3 (Conbelin Stone; The Sanctuary Stone) ucl.ac.uk/archaeology/cisp, accessed 18 May 2018 Date Some time between 950 and 1050 AD. Dimensions Total height is . The head and shaft are a single stone, high (with a further within the pedestal socket). The shaft was originally longer by perhaps , probably re-socketed before the Reformation. The head is in diameter, and some thick. The pedestal is rectangular, high, wide, and deep. Inscriptions 1, within the top-left quadrant of the cross: CONBELIN P[O]SUIT HANC CRUCEM (P[RO] [A]NIMA RI[C?])