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Bryn Owen Farm Cairns is a prehistoric round cairn situated in Llanfabon, Wales, and protected by Cadw as a scheduled monument under reference GM051. The monument stands on bedrock formed from the South Wales Upper Coal Measures, a Westphalian-age geological sequence composed of mudstone, siltstone, sandstone, coal, ironstone and ferricrete. This substantial stone-rich substrate would have provided suitable material for cairn construction, with the harder sandstone and ironstone blocks offering durable building stone for burial or ceremonial purposes.
Round cairns of this type typically date to the Bronze Age and served as burial monuments or ritual structures. Their construction involved the deliberate piling of stone to create prominent earthwork features across the landscape. The survival of multiple cairns at this location suggests a focus for prehistoric activity and burial practice.
The monument's preservation as a scheduled ancient monument reflects its archaeological significance and potential to contribute evidence about Bronze Age settlement, ritual behaviour and land use in the upland regions of south Wales. The specific geological context of the Coal Measures bedrock remains integral to understanding the monument's relationship with its local environment.
Bryn Owen Farm Cairns, Llanfabon is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference GM051. View the official record →
Bryn Owen Farm Cairns is a prehistoric round cairn situated in Llanfabon, Wales, and protected by Cadw as a scheduled monument under reference GM051.
Bryn Owen Farm Cairns, Llanfabon 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.
Bryn Owen Farm Cairns, Llanfabon 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 GM051.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Caerphilly Castle (3.9 km), Caerffili Mountain Shaft Mounds (5.8 km), The Pottery, Nantgarw (5.8 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Bryn Owen Farm Cairns, Llanfabon'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.
Bryn Owen Farm Cairns, Llanfabon stands on South Wales Upper Coal Measures Formation, bedrock that formed in the Westphalian. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone, sandstone, coal, ironstone and ferricrete.