Stone Circle and Round Cairn W of Ynyshir

Cadw's description

Summary description and reason for designation

The monument comprises the remains of a stone circle and a burial cairn, which probably date to the Bronze Age (c. 2300 - 800 BC). The monuments are located within open moorland on the Sennybridge MOD training area. The cairn is circular in plan, 8m in diameter and grass covered. There is an indentation in the summit of the cairn which is probably the remains of an early investigation. The stone circle is located 23m to the NE of the cairn and comprises a circle of 14 stones set in an arrangement around 18m in diameter. The stones are of varying height, the highest only 0.8m high, with most much lower. On the southern side of the circle three glacial boulders have been incoporated into the monument. Traces of 5 other stones can be found around the circumference of the circle, buried below the turf. The circle was partially excavated in 1940 and was found to have originally contained 27 stones. There is a small shell-hole to the east of the circle.

The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of prehistoric burial and ritual practices. The features are an important relic of a prehistoric funerary and ritual landscape and retain significant archaeological potential. There is a strong probability of the presence of both intact ritual and burial deposits, together with environmental and structural evidence. Stone circles are often part of a larger cluster of monuments and their importance can further enhanced by their group value.

The scheduled area comprises the remains described and areas around them within which related evidence may be expected to survive.