Bryn 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 round cairn, probably dating to the Bronze Age (c.2300 BC - 800 BC) and situated on the summit of the Bryn ridge, on the S flanks of Gorllwyn mountain. The small burial cairn is circular on plan with a well-defined edge and measures about 8m in diameter and 0.4m in height. Although it has been disturbed in the past - the centre of the cairn has been robbed - the majority of the base of the cairn appears to remain intact.

The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of prehistoric burial and ritual practices. The 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 structural evidence and intact burial or ritual deposits. The importance of the monument is further enhanced by the topographical association of the ring cairn with the many other cairns that can be found within the surrounding area, including the adjacent ring cairn (BR381), the large summit burial cairns on the Gorllwyn (BR384) and the prominent round cairn on Garn Wen (BR386) on the summit of the hill on the opposite side of the valley to the SW.

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 20m in diameter.