Craig Twrch 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 a well-preserved burial cairn, probably dating to the Bronze Age (c.2300 BC - 800 BC) and situated within open moorland on a slight terrace on the SE-facing rounded summit of the prominent ridge above and to the NE of the Afon Twrch. The stone-built cairn is circular on plan and measures about 8.5m in diameter and up to 0.4m in height. There is an exposed cist or chamber in the centre of the cairn, measuring about 1.2m from ESE to WNW by 0.9m transversely and 0.6m in depth within several large orthostats. A large rectangular capstone is situated immediately to the S of the cist (measuring 1.4m in length by 0.9m transversely and 0.2m in thickness). A linear hollow extends from the open ESE end of the cist to the edge of the cairn material; this may represent antiquarian investigation (in the form of a partially infilled trench), but may rather represent an original passage, gaining access to the partially subterranean central chamber.

The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of prehistoric burial and ritual. 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 intact burial or ritual deposits and environmental and structural evidence, including a buried prehistoric land surface. Should the monument be a Neolithic small passage grave it would represent an extremely rare and well-preserved example, set in an unusual upland location.

The area scheduled comprises the remains described and an area around them within which related evidence may be expected to survive. It is circular and measures 22m in diameter.