Cof Cymru: National Historic Assets of Wales · Wales
Moel yr Henfaes ring cairn
Cynwyd, Denbighshire, Wales
A scheduled monument in Cynwyd, Denbighshire, recorded as Ring Cairn (Prehistoric).
The record
- Designation
- Scheduled monument
- Site type
- Ring Cairn
- Period
- Prehistoric
- Date of designation
- 28 October 2008
- Community
- Cynwyd
- Unitary authority
- Denbighshire
- Country
- Wales
- Coordinates (centre of the scheduled area)
- 52.93774, -3.37810
- SAM number
- DE299
- Cadw record number
- 4321
Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.
David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesLlyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru – The National Library of WalesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries
5 historical maps cover this location, the earliest the 1608 map "(13) Cambriae Typus." (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries).
Historical maps covering this location
- 1608 · (13) Cambriae Typus. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
- 1795 · To Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn Bart ... the map of the six counties of North Wales is most… (Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru – The National Library of Wales)
- 1883 · Watershed map England, Wales 3. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
- 1898 · 120 Corwen (Hills) (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
- 1901 · Sheet 9 and 10. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
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 ring cairn, probably dating to the Bronze Age (c.2300 BC - 800 BC) and situated within enclosed moorland on the SW-facing slopes of the summit of Moel yr Henfaes. The well-preserved ring cairn is circular on plan and measures about 9m in diameter within a low stony ring bank about 2.2m in thickness. The low ring bank contains many quartzitic stones.
The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of prehistoric burial and ritual practices. Excavated examples have shown these monuments to be essentially ceremonial - although with a consistent link with the burial of the dead (some cremation burials have been revealed). Rituals involving the burning and deposition of charcoal, perhaps symbolic of the funeral pyre, would seem to have been important - and the position of many ring cairns within the surrounding landscape would seem to indicate the importance of showmanship, with ceremonies viewed from outside. The well-preserved monument is an important relic of a prehistoric funerary and ritual landscape. It retains significant archaeological potential, with a strong probability of the presence of both intact burial or ritual deposits and environmental and structural evidence. The importance of the monument is further enhanced by the topographical association of the ring cairn with the many Bronze Age cairns that can be found within the surrounding area.
The area proposed for scheduling comprises the remains described and an area around them within which related evidence may be expected to survive. It is circular and measures 30m in diameter.
Nearby in the register
- Moel yr Henfaes cairn cemeteryRound Cairnunder 1 mi
- Nant Gwyn long hutDeserted Rural Settlementunder 1 mi
- Coed Llynor long hutDeserted Rural Settlementunder 1 mi
- Nant Gwyn round cairnsRound Cairnunder 1 mi
Other entries of the same register within about three miles of this one, by straight line.