Scheduled MonumentsWalesCarneddau Hengwm Long Cairns
Prehistoric · Chambered Long Cairn

Carneddau Hengwm Long Cairns

Meirionnydd, Wales
Cadw SAM ME007
Period
Prehistoric
Site type
Chambered Long Cairn
Broad class
Religious, Ritual and Funerary
Nation
Wales
Boundary

Scheduled area

© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Cadw

Overview

History & significance

Carneddau Hengwm Long Cairns is a prehistoric chambered long cairn located in Wales and protected as a scheduled monument by Cadw under reference ME007. The monument sits upon Lower Cambrian bedrock composed of interbedded sandstone and conglomerate, geological formations dating to the Early Cambrian period. This ancient stone foundation provided the builders of the cairn with accessible stone resources nearby, which would have been essential for constructing this substantial prehistoric structure.

Long cairns of this type were built during the Neolithic period, serving as communal burial monuments for multiple individuals. The chambered form indicates an internal stone burial chamber, which would have been accessible for periodic ceremonial use and the deposition of the dead. The monument's presence in the Welsh landscape reflects the spread of megalithic burial practices across Britain during the fourth and third millennia before the present.

The cairn survives as a testament to Neolithic communities' investment in monumental construction and their beliefs concerning death and commemoration. The site's location within the Welsh uplands demonstrates how Neolithic peoples engaged with diverse landscapes, establishing permanent ritual centres that would have served their communities for generations and remained significant in the cultural memory of the regions they inhabited.

Carneddau Hengwm Long Cairns is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference ME007. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Carneddau Hengwm Long Cairns?

Carneddau Hengwm Long Cairns is a prehistoric chambered long cairn located in Wales and protected as a scheduled monument by Cadw under reference ME007.

What period does Carneddau Hengwm Long Cairns date from?

Carneddau Hengwm Long Cairns dates from the prehistoric period, and is classified as a chambered long cairn. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.

Who is responsible for protecting Carneddau Hengwm Long Cairns?

Carneddau Hengwm Long 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 ME007.

What other scheduled monuments are near Carneddau Hengwm Long Cairns?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Cyfannedd-Fach Homestead (8 km), Bron-Llety-Ifan cairns and cup-marked rock (8.2 km), Fairbourne Anti-invasion Defences (8.3 km).

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Everything a full report reveals about Carneddau Hengwm Long Cairns

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Carneddau Hengwm Long Cairns'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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The ground beneath

The bedrock under Carneddau Hengwm Long Cairns

Carneddau Hengwm Long Cairns stands on Lower Cambrian Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Early Cambrian. The rock here is sandstone and conglomerate, interbedded.