Caer Euni Stone Circles

Cadw's description

Summary description and reason for designation

The following provides a general description of the Scheduled Monument.

The monument comprises the remains of two cairn circles, which probably date to the Bronze Age (c.2300 - 800 BC). They are situated on top of the NE-SW ridge of Cefn Caer Euni, either side of a trackway that runs along the ridge.

The northern kerb cairn circle is the larger of the two, comprising 22 large boulders with a diameter of 10 metres and a circumference measuring approximately 45 metres. Excavations in 1971 and 1972 revealed a ring of boulders, surrounding a rectangular wooden structure, which was demolished when the central area was filled with a level platform of stone. Beneath this was a layer containing pottery, charcoal and flints; suggesting an occupation site that was replaced by a ritual, sepulchral monument.

The southern cairn circle comprises three concentric rings of boulders, with cairn material in between. The outermost ring is 9m in diameter. The centre is a level area, approximately 3.2 metres in diameter, occupied by a rectangular arrangement incorporating a slab of natural bedrock and a pit, which at the time of excavation was found to be filled with black earth and stones. The two outer circles retain only a few boulders, but the inner circle is nearly complete.

The monument is of national importance for its enhancement of our knowledge of prehistoric burial and ritual practices. The features are an important relic of a prehistoric funerary and ritual landscape. Cairns may be part of a larger cluster of monuments and their importance can be further enhanced by their group value, the hillfort of Caer Euni lies some 700m to the NE.

The scheduled area comprises the remains described and areas around them within which related evidence may be expected to survive.