© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Cadw
Banwen Gwys Round Cairns is a prehistoric round cairn situated in Wales, protected as a scheduled monument by Cadw under reference BR353. The monument sits upon bedrock composed of Dinantian limestone with subordinate sandstone and argillaceous rocks, geology that shaped both the landscape and the materials available to its builders during the Neolithic and Bronze Age periods. Round cairns of this type typically served as burial monuments, constructed by heaping stone over single or multiple inhumations. The Dinantian limestone bedrock would have provided readily available stone for the cairn's construction, making this location particularly suitable for such a monument.
The site's position on the Dinantian geology reflects patterns of Bronze Age settlement in upland Wales, where communities built cairns across areas of open moorland. The combination of limestone and associated rock types in the underlying geology influenced both the stone available for construction and the accessibility of the site. Preservation of the monument reflects its archaeological significance as a record of prehistoric burial practice and territorial occupation in the Welsh landscape, now protected to ensure its survival for future study and understanding.
Banwen Gwys Round Cairns is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference BR353. View the official record →
Banwen Gwys Round Cairns is a prehistoric round cairn situated in Wales, protected as a scheduled monument by Cadw under reference BR353.
Banwen Gwys Round Cairns 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.
Banwen Gwys Round Cairns 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 BR353.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Lorfa stone circle (3.5 km), Llwyncwmstabl round cairn (3.6 km), Hut Circle West of Saith Maen (4.4 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Banwen Gwys Round Cairns'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.
Banwen Gwys Round Cairns stands on Dinantian Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Mississippian. The rock here is limestone with subordinate sandstone and argillaceous rocks.