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Craig Las cairn is a prehistoric round cairn located in Wales and protected as a scheduled monument by Cadw under reference ME239. The monument sits upon bedrock composed of unnamed extrusive rocks of Ordovician age, formed from mafic lava and mafic tuff laid down over 440 million years ago. This ancient volcanic geology creates a dark, dense foundation characteristic of upland Welsh terrain.
Round cairns of this type typically date to the Bronze Age and served as burial monuments for elite members of prehistoric communities. The cairn's construction would have involved the deliberate accumulation of stone gathered from the surrounding landscape, a labour-intensive process that speaks to the social importance of the individual or family commemorated at this location.
The monument's position on Ordovician volcanic bedrock is typical of many upland Welsh cairns, where such stone-rich geology provided ready material for construction. The survival of the cairn today reflects both the durable nature of its volcanic stone and the protective measures afforded by its scheduled status, ensuring this Bronze Age burial monument remains a significant part of Wales's prehistoric heritage.
Craig Las cairn is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference ME239. View the official record →
Craig Las cairn is a prehistoric round cairn located in Wales and protected as a scheduled monument by Cadw under reference ME239.
Craig Las cairn 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.
Craig Las 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 ME239.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Hut Circle South of Cyfannedd Fawr (5.2 km), Bedd-y-Brenin Round Cairn (5.3 km), Hut Group 530m SSE of Cyfannedd Fawr (5.5 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Craig Las 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.
Craig Las cairn stands on Unnamed Extrusive Rocks, Ordovician, bedrock that formed in the Ordovician. The rock here is mafic lava and mafic tuff.