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Aran Fawddwy Cairn is a prehistoric round cairn located in Wales, protected by Cadw under reference ME258. The monument sits upon Ordovician bedrock composed of unnamed extrusive rocks, specifically felsic tuff formed during the Ordovician period around 485 to 444 million years ago. This volcanic geology is characteristic of upland Welsh terrain shaped by ancient geological activity.
The cairn represents a funerary or ceremonial monument of the Bronze Age or earlier prehistoric period. Such round cairns typically mark burial sites or ritual locations, constructed by stacking stones across the surrounding landscape. The choice of this particular hilltop location, like many cairns of its type, would have been significant to the communities who built it, offering visibility across the surrounding terrain.
The monument survives as evidence of Wales's prehistoric settlement and burial practices. The underlying geology of felsic tuff, which produces naturally fractured stone suitable for cairn construction, made this location practical for monument building as well as symbolically important. Cadw's protection ensures the cairn's preservation for ongoing archaeological and historical study.
Aran Fawddwy Cairn is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference ME258. View the official record →
Aran Fawddwy Cairn is a prehistoric round cairn located in Wales, protected by Cadw under reference ME258.
Aran Fawddwy Cairn 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.
Aran Fawddwy Cairn 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 ME258.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Dolddeuli Standing Stone (3.8 km), Cairn 225m S of Moel Caws (5.3 km), Hut Group & Enclosures 117m S of Moel Caws (5.3 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Aran Fawddwy Cairn'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.
Aran Fawddwy Cairn stands on Unnamed Extrusive Rocks, Ordovician, bedrock that formed in the Ordovician. The rock here is felsic tuff.