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Cefn Coch Cairn and Cist is a prehistoric round cairn situated in Wales, protected as a scheduled monument by Cadw under reference ME220. The monument stands upon bedrock of Upper Cambrian age, specifically including Tremadoc formation rocks comprising mudstone, siltstone and sandstone laid down during the Tremadocian period. This ancient geological foundation provides a stable base for the cairn's construction and has influenced the character of the surrounding landscape.
The cairn itself represents a form of prehistoric burial monument common to Wales and broader British practice, constructed by heaping stone upon the ground surface. A stone cist—a rectangular burial chamber formed by stone slabs—forms the central component of the monument, a characteristic feature of cairns from the Neolithic and Bronze Age periods. Such structures served as communal or individual burial places and monuments to the dead.
The mudstone and siltstone bedrock of the Tremadocian formation would have provided readily available stone for cairn construction, allowing ancient communities to raise this monument from locally quarried materials. The survival of both the cairn's mound and its internal cist structure offers insight into prehistoric burial practices and the use of local geological resources by early Welsh societies.
Cefn Coch Cairn and Cist is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference ME220. View the official record →
Cefn Coch Cairn and Cist is a prehistoric round cairn situated in Wales, protected as a scheduled monument by Cadw under reference ME220.
Cefn Coch Cairn and Cist 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.
Cefn Coch Cairn and Cist 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 ME220.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Tal y Waen cairns (5.9 km), Tyddyn-y-Coed Camp (6.8 km), Maes Coch Deserted Rural Settlement (7 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Cefn Coch Cairn and Cist'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.
Cefn Coch Cairn and Cist stands on Upper Cambrian, Including Tremadoc, bedrock that formed in the Tremadocian. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.