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Carnguwch Cairn is a prehistoric round cairn located in Wales and protected by Cadw as a scheduled monument under reference CN043. The monument sits upon bedrock of Silurian age, an unnamed felsic igneous intrusion of the Ordovician to Silurian period. This geological setting, characteristic of upland Wales, provided the stone-working inhabitants with abundant hard rock suitable for cairn construction.
The cairn represents a burial or ceremonial structure built during the prehistoric period, when such monuments dotted the Welsh landscape. Round cairns of this type typically comprised heaps of stone gathered from the surrounding terrain, often covering burials or serving ritual functions for early communities. The specific geology of the site—the resistant felsic igneous rock—would have made extraction and transport of suitable stones a substantial undertaking.
Today, Carnguwch Cairn survives as a testament to prehistoric monument-building practices in Wales. Its protection under Cadw ensures continued preservation of this archaeological asset for future study and understanding of early Welsh settlement and ritual behaviour.
Carnguwch Cairn is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference CN043. View the official record →
Carnguwch Cairn is a prehistoric round cairn located in Wales and protected by Cadw as a scheduled monument under reference CN043.
Carnguwch 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.
Carnguwch 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 CN043.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Standing Stone NW of Trallwyn (1.3 km), Moel Gwynus Standing Stone (3 km), Four Crosses Standing Stone (4.7 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Carnguwch 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.
Carnguwch Cairn stands on Unnamed Igneous Intrusion, Ordovician To Silurian, bedrock that formed in the Silurian. The rock here is felsic-rock.