Round Cairns 430m North West of Henrhyd

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 group of four cairns, which probably date to the Bronze Age (c. 2300 - 800 BC) and are situated at the head of a small valley on the south side of Mynydd y Betws. The northernmost cairn is stone built and measures 15m in diameter and 1.2m high with signs of a kerb, fragments of an urn were recovered in 1913. Adjacent and to the south is a cairn measuring 4m in diameter and 3m high whilst 10m to the south another measures 5m in diameter and has clear traces of a kerb. The fourth cairn lies 35m south south west of the northernmost and is 8m in diameter and 0.6m high.

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 cairns importance is further enhanced by their group value.

The scheduled area comprises the remains described and areas around them within which related evidence may be expected to survive.