Scheduled MonumentsWalesCarn-y-Pigwn Round Cairn
Prehistoric · Round Cairn

Carn-y-Pigwn Round Cairn

Wales
Cadw SAM GM372
Period
Prehistoric
Site type
Round Cairn
Broad class
Religious, Ritual and Funerary
Nation
Wales
Boundary

Scheduled area

© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Cadw

Overview

History & significance

Carn-y-Pigwn Round Cairn is a prehistoric round cairn situated in Wales and scheduled under Cadw protection as monument GM372. The structure was built upon bedrock of the South Wales Upper Coal Measures Formation, comprising mudstone, siltstone, sandstone, coal, ironstone and ferricrete deposits laid down during the Westphalian period.

Round cairns of this type typically date to the Bronze Age and served as burial monuments or territorial markers within the upland landscape. The specific geology of the site—with its mixed sedimentary sequence and iron-rich ferricrete—would have provided suitable stone for cairn construction, whilst the coal seams and ironstone bands visible in the bedrock geology characterise the wider South Wales coalfield region.

The cairn's survival within the Welsh landscape testifies to the enduring visibility of Bronze Age burial practices in the upland terrain. Now protected as a scheduled ancient monument, Carn-y-Pigwn preserves an important record of prehistoric settlement patterns and burial ritual in this geologically distinctive part of Wales.

Carn-y-Pigwn Round Cairn is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference GM372. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Carn-y-Pigwn Round Cairn?

Carn-y-Pigwn Round Cairn is a prehistoric round cairn situated in Wales and scheduled under Cadw protection as monument GM372. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Cadw under reference GM372.

What period does Carn-y-Pigwn Round Cairn date from?

Carn-y-Pigwn 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.

Who is responsible for protecting Carn-y-Pigwn Round Cairn?

Carn-y-Pigwn 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 GM372.

What other scheduled monuments are near Carn-y-Pigwn Round Cairn?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Twyn y Bridallt Roman Camp (1.3 km), Mynydd Ty'n-tyle cairns (2.2 km), Ring Cairn 350m W of Penrhiw Caradoc, Llanwonno (3.1 km).

Unlimited access

Everything a full report reveals about Carn-y-Pigwn Round Cairn

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Carn-y-Pigwn Round Cairn's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:

Overview
An interactive map of the location with every monument and battle plotted, and a plain-language history built only from what the record holds.
Monuments
The legally protected scheduled monuments around the location, each with its period, type and significance.
Battlefields
The battles and sieges fought on this ground, mapped and set on a timeline of the wider conflict.
Roman Britain
The Roman roads, forts and towns near here, and the Iron Age people who held the land before Rome arrived.
Civil War
The Civil War fighting, garrisons and recorded militaria in this area, woven into the arc of 1642 to 1651.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back hundreds of millions of years.
Local Names
What the street and field names around here actually mean, and the history buried inside them.
Historical Maps
Ordnance Survey maps from the 1800s, layered over the location as it stands today.
Literature
The books, county histories, charters and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.
Legal
The protected sites nearby and the metal-detecting, access and treasure laws that apply to this ground.
Spotlight
A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.
Target Zones
For detectorists: the most promising ground to search nearby, ranked by confidence, with what to expect.
Timeline
The whole story of the location told era by era, from prehistory to the present day.
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Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.

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The ground beneath

The bedrock under Carn-y-Pigwn Round Cairn

Carn-y-Pigwn Round Cairn stands on South Wales Upper Coal Measures Formation, bedrock that formed in the Westphalian. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone, sandstone, coal, ironstone and ferricrete.

The wider landscape

Around Carn-y-Pigwn Round Cairn

Caerphilly CastleArchaeological site · ~11 miles