Trethevy (meaning 'place of the grave') is a very attractive portal tomb that stands on the edge of Bodmin Moor on a low rise of land bounded on three sides by a pair of streams that eventually flow into the River Seaton. A slight dip in the land on the fourth side creates a small 'island' - Trethevy Quoit stands at the highest point
The monument consists of a low roughly circular 6 metre diameter mound of stones and cobbles which are the remains of a covering cairn which it is said was removed in the 19th century (although some people speculate that this mound never entirely covered the tomb). On top of this stand the stones of the burial chamber - 2 slabs on each side and stone at the back which has partly collapsed into the chamber with a blocking stone at the front and a final stone just beyond that may have formed part of an antechamber or entrance. The precariously balanced 3.5 metre long capstone rests on the rear pair of side slabs and the blocking stone and has a strange hole drilled through it whose purpose is unknown. The blocking stone is also interesting in that it has a notch cut at the bottom which may have served for the insertion and periodic removal of burial remains

Glossary Item: Neolithic