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Carnedd Lwyd cairns is a prehistoric round cairn located in Wales and protected by Cadw under reference ME241. The monument sits upon bedrock formed during the Ordovician period, comprising unnamed extrusive rocks of mafic composition—ancient lava flows and tuff deposits laid down over 470 million years ago. This geological foundation of volcanic rock creates a challenging landscape for construction and settlement.
Round cairns of this type typically date to the Bronze Age, serving as burial monuments for individuals of status within their communities. The stone heap structure would have been built from locally gathered material, deliberately piled over an inhumed or cremated burial. Such cairns often contained central grave pits or stone-lined chambers, though the interior arrangements at Carnedd Lwyd would require archaeological investigation to determine.
The monument's survival on this exposed upland terrain, where the hard volcanic bedrock offered limited workable soil, suggests the site held particular significance for its Bronze Age builders. The choice to construct a substantial funerary monument in this demanding landscape reflects the importance placed upon commemorating the dead, even in areas less suitable for permanent habitation or agriculture.
Carnedd Lwyd cairns is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference ME241. View the official record →
Carnedd Lwyd cairns is a prehistoric round cairn located in Wales and protected by Cadw under reference ME241.
Carnedd Lwyd cairns 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.
Carnedd Lwyd cairns 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 ME241.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Castell y Bere (5.2 km), Hut Circle South of Cyfannedd Fawr (5.2 km), Bedd-y-Brenin Round Cairn (5.2 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Carnedd Lwyd cairns'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.
Carnedd Lwyd cairns stands on Unnamed Extrusive Rocks, Ordovician, bedrock that formed in the Ordovician. The rock here is mafic lava and mafic tuff.