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Cefn-y-Gadfa Stone Rows and Cists is a prehistoric burial monument located in Wales, comprising stone-built cists arranged in formal rows. The site lies on bedrock composed of Wenlock Rocks, a succession of interbedded sandstone and conglomerate deposited during the Silurian period. This durable geology provided the raw material for the monument's construction and has ensured the survival of its stone structure across millennia.
The cists are small stone-lined burial chambers, a burial practice widespread across Britain and Ireland during the Bronze Age. The formal arrangement in rows suggests a communal or family burial ground, perhaps accumulated over several generations. The exposed bedrock at Cefn-y-Gadfa would have made the site a practical choice for construction, requiring minimal excavation into the harder Wenlock strata whilst the fallen stones could be readily shaped and fitted together.
The monument is protected by Cadw, the Welsh heritage authority, under the reference DE094, recognising its archaeological significance. Such cist cemeteries are valuable sources of evidence for prehistoric burial practices and settlement patterns across upland Wales. The Wenlock bedrock, visible in the surrounding landscape, remains the defining geological feature of this remote burial site.
Cefn-y-Gadfa Stone Rows and Cists is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference DE094. View the official record →
Cefn-y-Gadfa Stone Rows and Cists is a prehistoric burial monument located in Wales, comprising stone-built cists arranged in formal rows. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Cadw under reference DE094.
Cefn-y-Gadfa Stone Rows and Cists dates from the prehistoric period, and is classified as a cist burial. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Cefn-y-Gadfa Stone Rows and Cists 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 DE094.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Hafod-y-Dre Stone Rows and Cairn (0.7 km), Y Foelas Castle Mound (1.5 km), Moel Rhiwlug Cist Cairn (1.7 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Cefn-y-Gadfa Stone Rows and Cists'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-Gadfa Stone Rows and Cists stands on Wenlock Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Wenlock. The rock here is sandstone and conglomerate, interbedded.