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Bwlch Round Cairn is a prehistoric round cairn located in Wales and protected as an ancient monument by Cadw under reference BR124. The site rests on Lower Devonian bedrock, comprising interbedded sandstone and conglomerate formations dating to the Early Devonian period. This geological foundation of hard, erosion-resistant stone would have been exposed or near-surface when the cairn was constructed in prehistory, providing a naturally stable base for the monument.
Round cairns of this type typically date to the Bronze Age and served as burial monuments, though some may have origins in the Neolithic period. They were built by heaping stone quarried or gathered locally, often over inhumed or cremated remains. The monument's location on Devonian bedrock reflects Bronze Age communities' practical knowledge of their landscape and their ability to identify suitable ground for monumental construction.
The survival of Bwlch Round Cairn, protected within the Cadw heritage register, preserves evidence of prehistoric settlement patterns and funerary practices in Wales. Such monuments are crucial to understanding how ancient populations organised their territories, marked significant sites, and commemorated their dead during the Bronze Age.
Bwlch Round Cairn is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference BR124. View the official record →
Bwlch Round Cairn is a prehistoric round cairn located in Wales and protected as an ancient monument by Cadw under reference BR124.
Bwlch 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.
Bwlch 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 BR124.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Coed Pentwyn Hillfort (7.7 km), Clo Cadno platform cairn (7.8 km), Llangattock Tramroad Inclines (8.1 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Bwlch 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.
Bwlch Round Cairn stands on Lower Devonian Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Early Devonian. The rock here is sandstone and conglomerate, interbedded.