Pentre Farm Barrow

Cadw's description

Summary description and reason for designation

The following provides a general description of the Scheduled Monument.

This large and impressive mound is in a small enclosed field immediately adjacent to Pentre farmhouse. It is sub-circular and measures 22m in diameter and 2.8m tall. The mound is built of soil and stones, and is almost entirely covered by a grass sward. Partial excavation in 1871 revealed burnt bone, structural features and artefacts including spindle whorls and lead and bronze objects.

The barrow was constructed for ritual and funerary purposes in the Bronze Age (c 2300 BC - 800 BC). The artefacts recovered from excavation also indicate that it was re-used in the Early Medieval period (the latter period of the first millennium AD). The monument possesses a combination of high quality attributes and this diversity provides an insight into the ritual and funerary practices of two distinct chronological periods. A mound of this size also represents a significant and rare lowland survival.

The area scheduled comprises the remains described and an area around them within which related evidence may be expected to survive. It is an irregular rectangle on plan. The boundary of the scheduled area is as follows: N edge follows the S side of the track for 18m; the W edge follows the N-S field boundary to the W for 20m; the E edge follows the N-S fence line to the E - where this turns E, the boundary projects a further 8m S in a straight line; the S edge runs E-W from this point to meet the W field boundary.