Scheduled MonumentsWalesBlaen y Cwm Round Cairns
Prehistoric · Round Cairn

Blaen y Cwm Round Cairns

Wales
Cadw SAM MG293
Period
Prehistoric
Site type
Round Cairn
Broad class
Religious, Ritual and Funerary
Nation
Wales
The designation
Reference
Cadw SAM MG293
Authority
Cadw
Designated
2001-12-27
Boundary

Scheduled area

© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Cadw

Overview

History & significance

Blaen y Cwm Round Cairns is a prehistoric round cairn located in Wales and protected as a scheduled monument by Cadw under reference MG293. The cairn sits upon bedrock of Llandovery age, where mudstone, siltstone and sandstone form the underlying geology characteristic of the Llandovery formation. This stable stone base would have provided a firm foundation for the monument's construction.

Round cairns of this type typically date to the Bronze Age, though some may have earlier origins. They served as burial monuments, with stone heaps constructed over inhumed or cremated remains, often accompanied by grave goods. The form and construction methods varied according to local stone availability and cultural practice across different regions of prehistoric Wales.

The Llandovery geology at Blaen y Cwm would have influenced both the character of the landscape and the building materials available to the monument's constructors. The weathered Palaeozoic bedrock of this period, exposed or near-surface, provided stone suitable for cairn construction. The site's preservation under Cadw protection ensures this Bronze Age burial monument remains available for archaeological study and public understanding of prehistoric Welsh funerary practice.

Blaen y Cwm Round Cairns is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference MG293. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Blaen y Cwm Round Cairns?

Blaen y Cwm Round Cairns is a prehistoric round cairn located in Wales and protected as a scheduled monument by Cadw under reference MG293.

What period does Blaen y Cwm Round Cairns date from?

Blaen y Cwm 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.

Who is responsible for protecting Blaen y Cwm Round Cairns?

Blaen y Cwm 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 MG293.

What other scheduled monuments are near Blaen y Cwm Round Cairns?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Esgair Draenllwyn Round Cairn I (1.7 km), Bryn y Gadair round cairn (4.5 km), Y Ffridd Round Barrow (6.4 km).

Unlimited access

Everything a full report reveals about Blaen y Cwm Round Cairns

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Blaen y Cwm Round Cairns's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:

Overview
An interactive map of the location with every monument and battle plotted, and a plain-language history built only from what the record holds.
Monuments
The legally protected scheduled monuments around the location, each with its period, type and significance.
Battlefields
The battles and sieges fought on this ground, mapped and set on a timeline of the wider conflict.
Roman Britain
The Roman roads, forts and towns near here, and the Iron Age people who held the land before Rome arrived.
Civil War
The Civil War fighting, garrisons and recorded militaria in this area, woven into the arc of 1642 to 1651.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back hundreds of millions of years.
Local Names
What the street and field names around here actually mean, and the history buried inside them.
Historical Maps
Ordnance Survey maps from the 1800s, layered over the location as it stands today.
Literature
The books, county histories, charters and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.
Legal
The protected sites nearby and the metal-detecting, access and treasure laws that apply to this ground.
Spotlight
A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.
Target Zones
For detectorists: the most promising ground to search nearby, ranked by confidence, with what to expect.
Timeline
The whole story of the location told era by era, from prehistory to the present day.
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Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.

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The ground beneath

The bedrock under Blaen y Cwm Round Cairns

Blaen y Cwm Round Cairns stands on Llandovery Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Llandovery. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.

The wider landscape

Around Blaen y Cwm Round Cairns

Offa's DykeArchaeological site · ~23.1 miles