Coed y Polyn round barrow

Cadw's description

Summary description and reason for designation

The following provides a general description of the Scheduled Ancient Monument.

The monument comprises the remains of an earthen round barrow, a burial monument probably dating to the Bronze Age (c.2300 BC - 800 BC) and situated within enclosed pasture on a rounded local summit above and to the E of the River Wye floodplain. The earthen barrow is circular on plan and originally measured about 17.5m in diameter - it is now oval on plan, its N and S sides having been flattened (by ploughing and a hollowed track respectively). The barrow now stands about 1.3m in height, although its S and W sides appear steeper. Although denuded by ploughing in the past (and a possible antiquarian excavation mentioned in the archives), the majority of this barrow remains substantially intact.

The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of prehistoric burial and ritual practices. The monument is well preserved and is an important relic of a prehistoric funerary and ritual landscape. It retains significant archaeological potential, with a strong probability of the presence of both intact burial or ritual deposits and environmental and structural evidence.

The scheduled area comprises the remains described and an area around them within which related evidence may be expected to survive. It is circular and measures 22m in diameter.