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Bailey Bedw Ring Cairn is a prehistoric ring cairn located in Wales and protected by Cadw under the reference RD180. Ring cairns are circular monuments of stone dating to the Bronze Age, typically comprising a bank of stones surrounding a central hollow or platform. They often served ceremonial or burial functions within their communities. The monument sits upon Pridoli bedrock, a foundation of mudstone, siltstone and sandstone formed during the Pridoli period of the Palaeozoic era. This mixed geology would have offered readily available stone suitable for cairn construction, with the harder sandstone fragments providing structural integrity to the monument's build.
The surrounding landscape of Wales provides the typical topography within which Bronze Age communities established such monuments. Ring cairns are thought to represent a particular phase of ritual monument construction, distinct from their contemporary round barrows and henges. The specific location of Bailey Bedw Ring Cairn within the Welsh terrain reflects Bronze Age settlement patterns and territorial organization. Such monuments often occupy elevated or visible locations within their local geography.
The survival of Bailey Bedw Ring Cairn as an upstanding earthwork and stone structure allows examination of Bronze Age constructional techniques and communal organization. Its protected status ensures continued study and preservation of this important prehistoric monument.
Bailey Bedw Ring Cairn is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference RD180. View the official record →
Bailey Bedw Ring Cairn is a prehistoric ring cairn located in Wales and protected by Cadw under the reference RD180.
Bailey Bedw Ring Cairn dates from the prehistoric period, and is classified as a ring cairn. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Bailey Bedw Ring 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 RD180.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Great House Mound & Bailey Castle (6.1 km), Aberllynfi chapel (6.2 km), Gwernyfed Park Camp (6.6 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Bailey Bedw Ring 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.
Bailey Bedw Ring Cairn stands on Pridoli Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Pridoli. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.