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Afon Ystymiau is a prehistoric round cairn located in Wales and protected by Cadw under reference CN379. The monument sits upon bedrock of Caradoc Rocks, a sequence of mudstone, siltstone and sandstone formed during the Caradocian period. These indurated sedimentary deposits would have presented a challenging foundation for construction, likely requiring significant effort to work the available stone for the cairn's structure.
The cairn represents a burial or ceremonial monument typical of the Bronze Age upland landscape. Such round cairns were commonly constructed as mortuary markers, often covering inhumation or cremation deposits. The stone-rich terrain of the Caradoc bedrock would have provided abundant raw material, though the labour-intensive nature of cairn construction indicates considerable community investment in commemorating the dead or conducting ritual activities at this location.
The monument's position north of Afon Ystymiau reflects the preference for elevated, marginal terrain in prehistoric Wales. This upland setting, whilst perhaps inhospitable for settlement, offered suitable locations for funerary monuments and allowed visibility across the landscape. The cairn's survival, now under statutory protection, preserves evidence of Bronze Age land use and ceremonial practice in this region.
Afon Ystymiau, cairns to N of is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference CN379. View the official record →
Afon Ystymiau is a prehistoric round cairn located in Wales and protected by Cadw under reference CN379.
Afon Ystymiau, cairns to N of 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 Ystymiau, cairns to N of 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 CN379.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Castell Dolwyddelan (3 km), Tomen y Castell (3.1 km), Ty'n y Ddol Medieval Long Hut (5 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Afon Ystymiau, cairns to N of'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 Ystymiau, cairns to N of stands on Caradoc Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Caradocian. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.