Carn Wen Round Cairn

Cadw's description

Summary description and reason for designation

The following provides a general description of the Scheduled Monument.

The monument comprises the remains of an upland cairn, which probably dates to the Bronze Age (c. 2300 - 800 BC). It is located on a W-facing spur of Foel Goch in open rough pasture and overlooks the Afon Clettwr to the S and the Dyfi estuary to the N. The well-preserved cairn is roughly circular in shape on plan and measures 16m in diameter. It is rounded in profile and measures a maximum of 1m in height. The stone-built cairn is turf-consolidated around its perimeter. It is largely undisturbed, except for the modern additions of a central walkers' cairn, which measures 1m in height, and a pair of 'thrones' on the SW side, which have been fashioned from cairn fabric.

The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of prehistoric burial and ritual practices. The feature is an important relic of a prehistoric funerary and ritual landscape and retains 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 importance of the monument is further enhanced by the group value it shares with neighbouring cairns.

The scheduled area comprises the remains described and an area around within which related evidence may be expected to survive. The scheduled area is circular in shape on plan and measures 26m in diameter.