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Carn Ddu platform cairn is a prehistoric platform cairn located in Wales and protected by Cadw under reference GM570. Platform cairns are a distinctive form of Neolithic or Early Bronze Age monument, comprising a level platform constructed from stone rubble and edged with kerb stones, often supporting a central burial chamber or cist. This building technique allowed communities to create stable, elevated structures on sloping terrain.
The monument sits upon bedrock of Lower Devonian age, comprising mudstone, siltstone and sandstone deposited during the Early Devonian period over 400 million years ago. These relatively soft sedimentary rocks would have weathered to produce suitable stone for cairn construction, with loose material available on or near the site. The underlying geology thus directly influenced both the monument's feasibility and its appearance.
Carn Ddu's preservation under Cadw protection reflects its significance as evidence of Neolithic or Early Bronze Age funerary practice and settlement organisation in Wales. Platform cairns across Wales and the wider British Isles represent a period when communities invested substantial labour in monumental burial structures, suggesting complex social organisation and enduring attachments to particular landscapes and ancestral places.
Carn Ddu platform cairn is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference GM570. View the official record →
Carn Ddu platform cairn is a prehistoric platform cairn located in Wales and protected by Cadw under reference GM570.
Carn Ddu platform cairn dates from the prehistoric period, and is classified as a platform cairn. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Carn Ddu platform 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 GM570.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Vale of Neath railway cutting and tunnel portal (8.4 km), Gwersyll (8.6 km), Garn Las Earthwork (8.8 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Carn Ddu platform 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.
Carn Ddu platform cairn stands on Lower Devonian Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Early Devonian. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.