Merthyr Common 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 six burial cairns, probably dating to the Bronze Age (c. 2300 - 800 BC).

Cairn A - A small round cairn 7m in diameter and 0.5m high with a hollow in the centre measuring 1m by 2m.

Cairn B - A ring cairn 19m in diameter with a bank 2m wide and 0.5m high of small stones that is turf covered. A single quartz conglomerate boulder measuring 0.5m by 0.3m lies on the inner side of the bank due south.

Cairn C - A ring cairn 15m in diameter with a bank 2m wide and 0.5m high. The interior contains the remains of an inner stone cairn or platform concentrated to the east and north, the maximum height of which is 0.6m.

Cairn D - Cairn measuring 13m in diameter and 0.5m high. The interior is denuded with more material surviving on the north side in the form of a small mound 4m in diameter.

Cairn E - A summit cairn approximately 9m in diameter and 0.7m high covered in grass and heather.

Cairn F - A small turf covered cairn 5m in diameter and 0.5m high with a hollowed centre containing two large stones.

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, together with environmental and structural evidence. Cairns may be part of a larger cluster of monuments and their importance can 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.