Carreg Lefain Cairn

Cadw's description

Summary description and reason for designation

The following provides a general description of the Scheduled Monument.

The monument comprises the well preserved remains of a burial cairn, probably dating to the Bronze Age (c.2300 BC - 800 BC) and situated on a slight terrace on the NW-facing slopes of Carreg Lefain. The heather-covered cairn is circular on plan and measures about 11m in diameter and up to 0.75m in height. A well-defined kerb of large stones is visible around much of the perimeter and two larger upright stones stand within the cairn.

The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of prehistoric burial and ritual practices. 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. Its importance is further enhanced by the various structural elements still visible.

The scheduled area comprises the remains described and an area around them within which related evidence may be expected to survive. It is circular and measures 18m in diameter.