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Bwlch y Rhiwgyr cairn is a prehistoric round cairn located in Wales. The monument sits on bedrock of Middle Cambrian age, comprising mudstone, siltstone and sandstone formed during the Middle Cambrian period. The underlying geology has shaped both the construction materials available to the cairn's builders and the landscape's character. The cairn is protected by Cadw, the Welsh Historic Monuments service, under reference ME237.
Round cairns of this type were built during the Bronze Age and served as burial monuments, their rubble construction often concealing central burial chambers or cists. The Cambrian bedrock underlying this site would have provided the stone used in the cairn's construction, selected from surface deposits and exposures across the surrounding terrain. Such cairns frequently commanded prominent positions within the landscape, serving both functional and ritual purposes for prehistoric communities.
The monument's preservation under state protection reflects its significance as evidence of Bronze Age funerary practices and settlement patterns in Wales. Though Bwlch y Rhiwgyr's specific archaeological sequence remains to be fully elucidated, cairns of this class provide crucial information about the material culture and spiritual beliefs of prehistoric Welsh societies. The site contributes to understanding how ancient communities engaged with and transformed the Welsh upland landscape.
Bwlch y Rhiwgyr cairn is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference ME237. View the official record →
Bwlch y Rhiwgyr cairn is a prehistoric round cairn located in Wales. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Cadw under reference ME237.
Bwlch y Rhiwgyr 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 y Rhiwgyr 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 ME237.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Bron-Llety-Ifan cairns and cup-marked rock (7.4 km), Enclosure & Settlement 400m East of Cyfannedd Fawr (7.9 km), Fairbourne Anti-invasion Defences (7.9 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Bwlch y Rhiwgyr 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 y Rhiwgyr cairn stands on Middle Cambrian, bedrock that formed in the Middle Cambrian. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.