1. A cist was discovered by a grave-digger in March 1926 behind Penllwyn chapel (NPRN 7387). It was covered by an unhewn slab measuring 2ft (0.6m) x 1 ft (0.3m), beneath which stood a fine Enrcusted Urn, mouth uppermost, filled with burnt bone. There was no trace of a barrow. The vessel stands 34.6m tall and its diameter (mouth) is 34.8cm. It is highly ornamented and forms one of the finest urns of its type discovered in Wales.

Information derived from Briggs in: Cardiganshire County History (1994), p.202.

2. Further account of the discovery, by Mr George Eyre Evans, from Fox, Antiquaries Journal Vol. VII, April 1927, 1-127.

'About 3 ft. from the present surface of the ground a flat unhewn slab about 2ft. by 1ft. revealed itself, which proved to be the covering stone of a small cist. Upon raising it, the faint outline of the slightly damaged rim of a cinerary urn was visible in the soil and stones with which the cist was filled.'...'On removing the stones an all but perfect urn, mouth uppermost, was exposed, badly cracked but most of the pieces in situ, thus preserving the vessel for a few moments before it fell to pieces, and enabling a rough sketch of its form to be made. The urn was filled with incinerated bones, not completely fired. There was no enclosed incense pot'

The original location of the burial would have been at the foot of sharply rising ground to the north, sited on a prominent gravel terrace which falls away sharply to the south, overlooking the broad valley of the River Rheidol. Its precise location within the present chapel graveyard has yet to be established.

T. Driver 28/11/2006

3. An original account of the discovery is noted in the unpublished memoirs of John Richard Griffiths, born at Penlan-oleu, Penllwyn, 1914, passed to Toby Driver by Erwyd Howells in 2018. The document was edited by his son Rhys Griffiths, Rhyd-cymmerau.

'While I was at school and they were digging a grave for a burial, a heap of river pebbles on the side of the cutting fell in together with pieces of earth coloured pottery which were thrown out with the soil. We children were nosing around during lunch break and I took a piece of the pottery home in my pocket and as soon as my father saw it he realised it was a part of a prehistoric pot and alerted the schoolmaster. Other bits that had been taken were returned and arrangements made to have the site excavated after the funeral by the county branch of the Archaeological Society. My father was most anxious to be present on the occasion and had asked my aunt at the chapel house to let him know when the time came. In due course the message came on April 1st and my father was sorely concerned whether my aunt was having him on or not! It was a genuine message however and the excavation revealed a burial urn with burnt bones that were shown later to be those of a young woman. The urn was restored and is now at the National Museum at Cardiff. A photograph was presented to the chapel authorities at a ceremony describing the importance of the find and it was hung on the wall of the main room of the school.'

T. Driver, RCAHMW, 10-12-18