Dyffryn Lane Ring Ditches & Pit Alignments (Formerly Dyffryn Lane Round Barrow)

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 a henge monument dating from the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age (c. 3000 BC - 1500 BC), with an earthen round barrow placed in the centre of the henge. Henges comprise circular areas defined by a bank and internal ditch. They seem to be ceremonial centres carefully designed and situated to control community participation and link into the surrounding landscape. It is thought that they marked a change in social attitudes towards the disposal of the dead, with burial rites previously focused solely on the chambered tomb. It is also possible that the later tradition of stone circles developed from the henge monument - while stone circles occur in only a very few henge monuments, most excavated examples of henges have been shown to contain circular settings of timber posts. The barrow is circular in shape on plan and has a rounded profile. The barrow stands to a height of c 1m and has been disturbed by ploughing.

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