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Craig Twrch round cairn is a prehistoric monument located in Wales and protected by Cadw under reference CM363. The cairn sits upon bedrock of Llandovery age, composed of interbedded sandstone and conglomerate that was laid down in ancient seas during the Ordovician period. This geological foundation of mixed stone types would have been readily available to the monument's builders, providing suitable material for cairn construction.
Round cairns of this type are characteristic of Bronze Age burial practices across Britain and Ireland, typically serving as ceremonial markers and repositories for cremated remains. The construction of such monuments involved gathering and stacking stones into a prominent mound, often visible across considerable distances in the surrounding landscape. The choice of location at Craig Twrch would have afforded commanding views of the Welsh terrain.
The monument's survival to the present day, despite millennia of exposure to weathering and potential disturbance, testifies to the solidity of its construction. As a scheduled ancient monument under Cadw's protection, Craig Twrch remains an important archaeological resource for understanding prehistoric funerary practices and settlement patterns in Wales. The site contributes to the broader picture of Bronze Age land use in this region.
Craig Twrch round cairn is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference CM363. View the official record →
Craig Twrch round cairn is a prehistoric monument located in Wales and protected by Cadw under reference CM363.
Craig Twrch round 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 Twrch round 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 CM363.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Cothi Roman Aqueduct (6.9 km), Banc Maes-yr-Haidd barrows (7.1 km), Annell Aqueduct (upper section) (7.6 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Craig Twrch round 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 Twrch round cairn stands on Llandovery Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Llandovery. The rock here is sandstone and conglomerate, interbedded.