Moelfre round barrow

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 round barrow, a burial mound probably dating to the Bronze Age (c.2300 BC - 800 BC) and situated on the prominent summit of Moelfre hill. The grass-covered barrow is circular on plan and measures about 15m in diameter and up to about 1.5m in height (except on the NW and SE sides, where the barrow merges with the steeper natural slope). The barrow has a level summit - and has probably been used as a beacon platform in the past. The barrow commands fantastic views over the surrounding landscape, particularly over the lower-lying ground to the NW.

The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of prehistoric burial and ritual practices. The well-preserved 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 and environmental and structural evidence, including a buried prehistoric land surface.

The area to be scheduled comprises the remains described and an area around them within which related evidence may be expected to survive. It is circular and measures 28m in diameter.