Blaen Clydach Fach round cairn

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 a small burial cairn, probably dating to the Bronze Age (c.2300 BC - 800 BC) and situated within enclosed pasture on the W-facing slopes above and to the E of Cwm Dwr, on the SW flanks of Mynydd Bwlch-y-Groes. The grass-covered stone-built cairn is circular on plan and measures about 10m in diameter and 0.4m in height. Although there are signs of disturbance - several small hollows are visible in its surface - the bulk of the cairn appears substantially intact.

The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of prehistoric burial and ritual practices. The well-preserved monument is an important relic of a prehistoric funerary and ritual landscape and retains significant archaeological potential, with a strong probability of the presence of both intact burial or ritual deposits and structural evidence. The importance of the cairn is further increased by the topographic association of the cairn with the contemporary platform cairn situated immediately to the NNW, Blaen Clydach Fach platform cairn (BR349).

The area to be scheduled 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.