Cof Cymru: National Historic Assets of Wales · Wales
Hengwm Ring Cairns
Blaenrheidol, Ceredigion, Wales
The record
- Designation
- Scheduled monument
- Site type
- Ring Cairn
- Period
- Prehistoric
- Date of designation
- 12 March 2009
- Community
- Blaenrheidol
- Unitary authority
- Ceredigion
- Country
- Wales
- Coordinates (centre of the scheduled area)
- 52.50440, -3.73485
- SAM number
- CD278
- Cadw record number
- 1308
Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.
David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries
Shown on 5 historical map sheets, the earliest the 1608 "(13) Cambriae Typus." (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries).
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 a cairn located in open moorland pasture, which probably dates to the Bronze Age (c. 2300 - 800 BC). The ring cairn (Item 'A') is located on a terrace on a moderate NW-facing slope overlooking the Afon Hengwm. The unbroken bank of earth and stone is circular in shape on plan. The bank measures 1.5m in width and 0.4m in height, with an overall diameter of 6m. A small stone-built round cairn (Item 'B') overlies the NW section of the ring cairn. It is circular in shape on plan and measures 2m in diameter and 0.75m in height. A probable cist is visible under the SW part of the round cairn.
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 cairns' group value with other scheduled prehistoric funerary and ritual monuments in the near vicinity.
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 20m in diameter.
Nearby in the register
- Carn Fawr Round CairnsRound Cairnunder 1 mi
- Carn Fach BugeilynRound Cairnunder 1 mi
- Carn Biga, Pumlumon Fawr/PlynlimonRound Cairnunder 1 mi
- Hut Circle Settlement below Foel Isaf, BugeilynHut Circle Settlementunder 1 mi
Other entries of the same register within about three miles of this one, by straight line.