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Carn Twrch is a prehistoric round cairn located in Wales and protected by Cadw under reference CM342. The monument sits upon bedrock composed of Ashgill Rocks, undifferentiated strata of mudstone, siltstone and sandstone laid down during the Ashgill period of the Ordovician. Round cairns of this type typically served as burial monuments during the Bronze Age, constructed by mounding stone over cremated or inhumed remains. The solid geology beneath Carn Twrch would have provided stable ground for its construction, whilst the local stones used in the cairn's building would have been sourced from the immediate landscape.
The Ashgill bedrock underlying the site is characteristic of upland areas in Wales, regions that were often favoured for prehistoric ritual and funerary monuments. Such high ground offered visibility across the surrounding terrain and may have held significance for the communities who built and used these cairns. The preservation of Carn Twrch as a scheduled monument reflects its importance as evidence of prehistoric burial practice and settlement patterns in Wales.
Carn Twrch round cairn is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference CM342. View the official record →
Carn Twrch is a prehistoric round cairn located in Wales and protected by Cadw under reference CM342.
Carn Twrch 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.
Carn Twrch 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 CM342.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Carn Wen round cairn (1.1 km), Bryn-Poeth-Uchaf, ring cairn to NE of (2 km), Stone Circle 200m SW of Cerrig Cynant (2.2 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Carn Twrch 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.
Carn Twrch round cairn stands on Ashgill Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Ashgill. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.