Stone Circle and Round Cairns, Hirnant

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 stone circle and a pair of cairns, which probably date to the Bronze Age (c. 2300 - 800 BC). They are located on a gentle valley slope overlooking the Afon Rheidol to the NW. Item 'A' is a circle of 16 small and irregularly shaped stones in a circular setting measuring 6m in diameter. An outlying orthostat is located c. 22m to the S. Item 'B' is located c. 50m to the S. It is circular in shape on plan and measures 8m in diameter. It is rounded in profile and measures 0.7m in height. Item 'C', comprising a rectangular open cist, is located c. 80m to the SSW of Item 'B'. It is aligned E-W and measures c. 1.8m in length, 0.6m in width and 0.3m in depth. One side and end stone are missing.

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. The features are part of a larger cluster of monuments and their importance is further enhanced by their group value.

The schedule entry has been revised to include two additional features. The two areas to be scheduled comprise the remains described and areas around within which related evidence may be expected to survive. Area 'A' is an irregular polygon that measures 77m N-S by 34m transversely. Area 'B' is circular in shape on plan and measures 15m in diameter.