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Carnedd y Filiast Cairn is a prehistoric round cairn located in Wales and protected by Cadw under reference ME253. The monument sits upon bedrock of Caradoc Rocks, a formation of mudstone, siltstone and sandstone laid down during the Caradocian period. This solid foundation of mixed sedimentary strata would have been exposed or readily accessible to the prehistoric communities who constructed the cairn, making it a natural choice for monument-building in the locality.
As a round cairn, the structure belongs to a widespread tradition of burial and ceremonial monuments erected across Britain and Ireland from the Neolithic through Bronze Age periods. These monuments typically comprised heaped stone, often covering cremated or inhumed remains, and frequently served as focal points for ritual activity across generations. The cairn's construction would have required considerable communal effort and labour.
The survival of Carnedd y Filiast Cairn as an upstanding monument reflects both the durability of stone construction and the protective designation it now enjoys. Such cairns remain important archaeological resources, preserving evidence of prehistoric settlement patterns, burial practices and the exploitation of local geology by ancient populations. The monument contributes to our understanding of prehistoric activity and land use in Wales.
Carnedd y Filiast Cairn is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference ME253. View the official record →
Carnedd y Filiast Cairn is a prehistoric round cairn located in Wales and protected by Cadw under reference ME253.
Carnedd y Filiast 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.
Carnedd y Filiast 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 ME253.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Garnedd Wen Cairn (3.2 km), Ffridd-y-Fedw Platform House (4.6 km), Pont Newydd (Southern) (6.7 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Carnedd y Filiast 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.
Carnedd y Filiast Cairn stands on Caradoc Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Caradocian. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.