Nant Gwyn round cairns

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 two burial cairns, probably dating to the Bronze Age (c.2300 BC - 800 BC) and situated in enclosed moorland on the W facing slopes of Y Drum, to the S of the Nant Gwyn stream. The stone-built cairns are both circular on plan; the cairn to the WSW measures 10.5m in diameter and 0.6m in height, while the cairn to the ENE measures 5m in diameter and 0.3m in height. Although both have been disturbed in the past, the majority of the base of each cairn remains intact and undisturbed.

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 structural evidence and intact burial or ritual deposits. The importance of the monument is further enhanced by the topographical association of the cairns with the many Bronze Age cairns that can be found within the surrounding area.

The areas to be scheduled comprise the remains described and areas around them within which related evidence may be expected to survive. That to the WSW is centred on the westernmost cairn (Item A: SJ 07748 37101); it is circular and measures 28m in diameter. That to the ENE is centred on the easternmost cairn (Item B: SJ 07971 37189); it is circular and measures 22m in diameter.