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Afon Bedol cairn and standing stone is a prehistoric round cairn located in Wales and protected by Cadw under reference CN360. The monument comprises both a burial mound and an upright stone marker, typical of cairn complexes from the Neolithic and Bronze Age periods. Such structures served as focal points in the landscape, marking the graves of significant individuals and serving communal ritual functions for the communities that built them.
The cairn sits upon Caradoc Rocks of Undifferentiated age, a bedrock formation of mudstone, siltstone and sandstone dating to the Caradocian period. This mixed geology would have provided scattered stone suitable for cairn construction, though builders often gathered materials from wider territories to create visible monuments on the horizon. The standing stone component adds vertical emphasis to the site, a practice that became increasingly common during the Bronze Age as communities refined their monumental expressions.
The survival of both cairn and standing stone at Afon Bedol provides valuable evidence for understanding prehistoric land use and burial practices in Wales. The specific combination of elements at this location reflects local building traditions and the particular ritual significance this place held for its ancient creators and users.
Afon Bedol cairn and standing stone is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference CN360. View the official record →
Afon Bedol cairn and standing stone is a prehistoric round cairn located in Wales and protected by Cadw under reference CN360.
Afon Bedol cairn and standing stone dates from the prehistoric period, and is classified as a round cairn. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Afon Bedol cairn and standing stone is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Cadw — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in Wales. The official designation reference is CN360.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Capel Curig cairn (4.1 km), Dyffryn Mymbyr cairn circle (4.7 km), Hut Circle Settlement at Nant Bochllwyd (4.7 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Afon Bedol cairn and standing stone's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Afon Bedol cairn and standing stone stands on Caradoc Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Caradocian. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.