Gors Lydan Round Barrows

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 earthen built round barrows, which probably date to the Bronze Age (c. 2300 - 800 BC). The barrows occupy the summit of Gors Lydan, with Barrow A lying c.54m to the north of Barrow B. Both barrows are circular in shape on plan and have rounded profiles. The northern barrow (A) is c.17m in diameter and c.1.5m high. It was described in 1974 as having a surrounding ditch about 1.5m wide, but this is no longer readily apparent. A pit was dug into the north-east side of the mound, probably in the 1960s or 1970s, which showed it to be of turf construction, but this too is now quite difficult to find beneath the heathy vegetation. The southern barrow (B) is c.18.2m in diameter and c.1.7m high, with a surrounding ditch c.1.2m wide and c.0.1m deep. Outside the ditch, there are traces of a counterscarp c.1.4m wide and c.0.15m high; this feature is virtually unique in North and central Wales. An old excavation trench c.0.7m wide and c.0.15m deep cuts east-west across the mound, and there are traces of a possible second trench on the north side.

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.