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Cefn y Bryn Ring Cairn is a prehistoric ring cairn located in Wales and protected by Cadw under reference CM304. Ring cairns are circular monuments constructed from stone, typically dating to the Neolithic or Bronze Age, and often served burial or ceremonial functions. This example is situated on bedrock composed of Llandovery rocks—mudstone, siltstone and sandstone deposits from the Llandovery geological period—which would have provided the raw materials for construction from the immediate landscape.
The monument's circular form and cairn construction are characteristic of ritual and funerary monuments built across upland Wales during prehistory. The undifferentiated nature of the local Llandovery bedrock indicates a mixed geology that would have yielded stone suitable for building, though the specific size and condition of the cairn would determine whether it represents a substantial burial chamber or a more modest ritual marker.
Ring cairns occupy an important place in understanding prehistoric settlement patterns and religious practice across Welsh uplands. Their presence in the landscape indicates sustained human activity and investment in monumental construction during the prehistoric period, reflecting the communities' social organization and spiritual beliefs in what is now a rural Welsh setting.
Cefn y Bryn Ring Cairn is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference CM304. View the official record →
Cefn y Bryn Ring Cairn is a prehistoric ring cairn located in Wales and protected by Cadw under reference CM304.
Cefn y Bryn Ring Cairn dates from the prehistoric period, and is classified as a ring cairn. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Cefn y Bryn Ring 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 CM304.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Nantiwrch round barrow (3.8 km), Roman Road c. 400m S of Benlan Farm (5.4 km), Berrisbrook Standing Stones (5.6 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Cefn y Bryn Ring 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.
Cefn y Bryn Ring Cairn stands on Llandovery Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Llandovery. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.