Scheduled MonumentsWalesCefn Moel Round Barrows
Prehistoric · Round Cairn

Cefn Moel Round Barrows

Breconshire, Wales
Cadw SAM BR125
Period
Prehistoric
Site type
Round Cairn
Broad class
Religious, Ritual and Funerary
Nation
Wales
Boundary

Scheduled area

© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Cadw

Overview

History & significance

Cefn Moel Round Barrows is a prehistoric round cairn situated in Wales and protected by Cadw under reference BR125. The monument stands upon Lower Devonian bedrock comprising sandstone and conglomerate strata, interbedded deposits formed during the Early Devonian period. This geological foundation of hard sedimentary rock would have presented significant challenges to those who constructed the cairn, requiring the gathering and placement of stone from the surrounding landscape.

Round cairns of this type typically date to the Bronze Age and served as burial monuments for elite members of prehistoric communities. Their construction involved the careful accumulation of stone in a mounded or circular form, often covering a central burial chamber or cist. The presence of such a monument indicates the area's occupation and territorial significance during the Bronze Age, reflecting the religious and social importance placed upon memorialising the dead.

The Devonian sandstone and conglomerate bedrock of the site would have provided accessible stone for cairn construction, whilst the elevated position afforded by the local topography would have made the monument visible across the surrounding landscape. The survival of Cefn Moel Round Barrows to the present day, under Cadw's stewardship, preserves evidence of prehistoric settlement patterns and funerary practices in Wales.

Cefn Moel Round Barrows is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference BR125. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Cefn Moel Round Barrows?

Cefn Moel Round Barrows is a prehistoric round cairn situated in Wales and protected by Cadw under reference BR125.

What period does Cefn Moel Round Barrows date from?

Cefn Moel Round Barrows 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.

Who is responsible for protecting Cefn Moel Round Barrows?

Cefn Moel Round Barrows 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 BR125.

What other scheduled monuments are near Cefn Moel Round Barrows?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Pant Serthfa round cairn (7.8 km), Coed Pentwyn Hillfort (8.4 km), Clo Cadno platform cairn (8.5 km).

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Everything a full report reveals about Cefn Moel Round Barrows

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Cefn Moel Round Barrows'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 Cefn Moel Round Barrows

Cefn Moel Round Barrows stands on Lower Devonian Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Early Devonian. The rock here is sandstone and conglomerate, interbedded.