Ring Cairn on Tor Clawdd

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 of earth and stone, which probably date to the Bronze Age (c. 2300 - 800 BC). It is situated close to the south western side of a causeway crossing Tor Clawdd, a moorland ridge 5km north northwest of Clydach and some 305m above sea level. The cairn has an internal diameter of c.16m which is enclosed by a bank which is 0.3m high and varies has a maximum width of 3.3m. There are traces of an external ditch with a maximum width of 2.1m on both the northwest and southern sides. On the south-eastern side there is a gap c. 2.1m wide which passes through both the bank and ditch.

The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of prehistoric burial and ritual practices. The feature is an important relic of a prehistoric funerary and ritual landscape and retains significant archaeological potential. There is a strong probability of the presence of both intact ritual and burial deposits, together with environmental and structural evidence. Ring 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.