From time immemorial this monumental vessel has been known as ‘The Oracle of Doom’. No one knows why but modern archaeologists say it is carved by hand. Some think it represents the birthing pool, with an older meaning of ‘doom’ being intended. Others think it must have involved sacrifice, perhaps  multiple victims had their blood drained here.  Most see it as having a religious significance. Those who visit talk of a sense of foreboding, of fear in the air. ‘Death sits, cupped in the land’, wrote one over-exuberant Victorian scholar.

What is also known is that this is the most sacred place for the Druids of Aberlaw, whose existence and continued devotions are a direct result of the presence of the curious bowl that sits on the side of a rather moth-eaten hill near Lampeter.

Chief Druid, Brian the Unrepentant is the current custodian of The Fall, an oral history of this Chalice, which is handed on, in the throes of death to whoever is the anointed successor.

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