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Cader Fawr Round Cairn is a prehistoric round cairn located in Wales and protected by Cadw under reference BR135. The monument sits upon Dinantian bedrock, a foundation of limestone interspersed with sandstone and mudstone dating to the Mississippian period. This geological base would have presented both opportunity and challenge to the cairn's builders: the limestone outcrops could be readily quarried for stone, whilst the softer argillaceous strata would have weathered to create areas of loose rubble suitable for mound construction.
Round cairns of this type typically date to the Bronze Age and served as burial monuments, though some were built in the Neolithic. The Dinantian limestone landscape around Cader Fawr would have provided an abundance of stone suitable for such construction, allowing the builders to create a substantial mound without transporting materials over great distances. The local geology thus shaped both the feasibility and character of the monument.
Today, the cairn survives as a visible feature of the Welsh landscape, its preservation ensured through statutory protection. The rocky terrain in which it stands remains largely unchanged from prehistory, offering modern visitors insight into the environment and resources available to its ancient constructors.
Cader Fawr Round Cairn is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference BR135. View the official record →
Cader Fawr Round Cairn is a prehistoric round cairn located in Wales and protected by Cadw under reference BR135.
Cader Fawr 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.
Cader Fawr 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 BR135.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Gelli-Isaf Tramroad Bridge, Abernant Tramroad (8 km), Iron Tram Bridge, Robertstown (8.8 km), Tramroad East of Robert's Town Bridge, Aberdare (8.9 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Cader Fawr 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.
Cader Fawr Round Cairn stands on Dinantian Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Mississippian. The rock here is limestone with subordinate sandstone and argillaceous rocks.