Scheduled MonumentsWalesBryn y Maen Round Barrow
Prehistoric · Round Barrow

Bryn y Maen Round Barrow

Radnorshire, Wales
Cadw SAM RD109
Period
Prehistoric
Site type
Round Barrow
Broad class
Religious, Ritual and Funerary
Nation
Wales
Boundary

Scheduled area

© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Cadw

Overview

History & significance

Bryn y Maen Round Barrow is a prehistoric burial monument situated in Wales and protected by Cadw as a scheduled ancient monument under reference RD109. Round barrows of this type were constructed during the Bronze Age as earthen mounds raised over cremated or inhumed burials, serving as enduring markers of the dead within the landscape. They represent one of the most distinctive monument forms of later prehistoric Britain and Ireland.

The barrow sits upon bedrock composed of Ludlow Rocks—a sequence of mudstone, siltstone and sandstone dating to the Ludlow Period of the Silurian geological era. This underlying geology would have shaped both the construction technique and the long-term preservation of the monument, as the relatively soft sedimentary rocks of the locality influenced water drainage and soil stability across the site.

As a scheduled monument under Cadw's protection, Bryn y Maen Round Barrow remains an important archaeological record of Bronze Age burial practice and territorial organisation in the Welsh landscape. The monument's survival demonstrates the enduring physical presence these mounds have maintained across millennia, continuing to form visible features within their local topography and serving as tangible evidence of ancient communities and their relationship with the land.

Bryn y Maen Round Barrow is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference RD109. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Bryn y Maen Round Barrow?

Bryn y Maen Round Barrow is a prehistoric burial monument situated in Wales and protected by Cadw as a scheduled ancient monument under reference RD109.

What period does Bryn y Maen Round Barrow date from?

Bryn y Maen Round Barrow dates from the prehistoric period, and is classified as a round barrow. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.

Who is responsible for protecting Bryn y Maen Round Barrow?

Bryn y Maen Round Barrow 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 RD109.

What other scheduled monuments are near Bryn y Maen Round Barrow?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Cefn Wylfre Round Barrows (5.9 km), Cefn Wylfre Platform House (6.3 km), Cefn Wylfre Deserted Rural Settlement (6.4 km).

Unlimited access

Everything a full report reveals about Bryn y Maen Round Barrow

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Bryn y Maen Round Barrow'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.
First month just £4.99, then £9.99 a month. Unlimited locations, cancel anytime.

Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.

Start your Bryn y Maen Round Barrow report
Or see a real report first
The ground beneath

The bedrock under Bryn y Maen Round Barrow

Bryn y Maen Round Barrow stands on Ludlow Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Ludlow. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.