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Blaenhenllan round cairn is a prehistoric burial monument in Wales, constructed from stone heaped over a grave or burial chamber. The cairn sits on bedrock of Ludlow Rock, a formation of mudstone, siltstone and sandstone laid down in the Ludlow period of the Silurian era. This geology dictated both the stone available locally for monument building and the ground conditions the builders encountered when establishing this burial site.
Round cairns of this type typically date to the Bronze Age, though some may be earlier. They represent one of the most enduring memorial forms in the British landscape, marking the graves of individuals or small groups of high status. The construction method—gathering fieldstone and mounding it over the burial—required substantial community labour and demonstrates the investment placed in commemorating the dead.
Blaenhenllan round cairn is protected under the care of Cadw, the Welsh heritage preservation service, recorded under reference RD217. This designation ensures the monument remains safeguarded as an irreplaceable record of prehistoric burial practice and landscape use in Wales, preserving evidence of the people who invested it with meaning over five thousand years ago.
Blaenhenllan round cairn is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference RD217. View the official record →
Blaenhenllan round cairn is a prehistoric burial monument in Wales, constructed from stone heaped over a grave or burial chamber. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Cadw under reference RD217.
Blaenhenllan round 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.
Blaenhenllan round 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 RD217.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Crickadarn Camp (3.9 km), Gwenddwr Deserted Village (4.5 km), Neuadd-Glan-Gwy Standing Stone (5 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Blaenhenllan round 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.
Blaenhenllan round cairn stands on Ludlow Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Ludlow. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.