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Chambered Cairn above Afon y Dolau Gwynion is a prehistoric chambered round cairn built on bedrock of Caradoc mudstone, siltstone and sandstone northeast of Lake Vyrnwy in Wales. The monument dates to the Neolithic period, when communities across Britain constructed elaborate stone tombs to serve as communal burial chambers. The cairn comprises a circular mound of stones with an internal stone chamber, typical of the chambered cairn tradition that flourished across Wales and western Britain during the fourth and third millennia BC.
The site occupies sloping terrain above the Afon y Dolau Gwynion valley, positioned to exploit the natural geography of the surrounding landscape. The underlying Caradocian bedrock provided suitable stone for construction, whilst the valley below offered access to water and grazing land. Chambered cairns such as this served multiple generations of the same community, with repeated use and burial practices over considerable periods of time.
The monument is protected by Cadw under reference MG227, recognising its significance as evidence of Neolithic settlement patterns, construction techniques and burial practices in the Welsh Marches region. The physical remains of such cairns continue to provide insights into prehistoric social organisation and the communities that built them.
Chambered Cairn above Afon y Dolau Gwynion, NE of Lake Vyrnwy is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference MG227. View the official record →
Chambered Cairn above Afon y Dolau Gwynion is a prehistoric chambered round cairn built on bedrock of Caradoc mudstone, siltstone and sandstone northeast of Lake Vyrnwy in Wales. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Cadw under reference MG227.
Chambered Cairn above Afon y Dolau Gwynion, NE of Lake Vyrnwy dates from the prehistoric period, and is classified as a chambered round cairn. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Chambered Cairn above Afon y Dolau Gwynion, NE of Lake Vyrnwy 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 MG227.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Croes y Forwyn cairns (3.3 km), Llanwddyn Hospitium (4.3 km), Clawdd Mawr (4.6 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Chambered Cairn above Afon y Dolau Gwynion, NE of Lake Vyrnwy'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.
Chambered Cairn above Afon y Dolau Gwynion, NE of Lake Vyrnwy stands on Caradoc Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Caradocian. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.