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Craig y Ganllwyd Cairn and Cist is a prehistoric platform cairn located in Wales. The monument stands on bedrock of Middle Cambrian mudstone, siltstone and sandstone, geology that would have shaped both the construction methods available to its builders and the landscape they inhabited. Platform cairns of this type date to the Neolithic or early Bronze Age, serving as communal burial monuments or ritual focal points within their communities.
The cairn comprises a platform of stacked stone surrounded by a retaining kerb, constructed using materials gathered from the local landscape. Within or beneath this platform lies a cist, a stone-built burial chamber typical of prehistoric funerary practice. Such monuments were often placed with deliberate reference to the topography and geology of their surroundings, and this example's position on Cambrian bedrock reflects careful siting by its prehistoric builders.
The monument is protected by Cadw, the Welsh heritage agency, under reference ME221, ensuring its preservation as an important record of prehistoric Welsh burial and ritual practice. Platform cairns remain relatively scarce in the archaeological record, making examples such as Craig y Ganllwyd valuable for understanding the diversity of funerary traditions across Neolithic and early Bronze Age Britain.
Craig y Ganllwyd Cairn and Cist is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference ME221. View the official record →
Craig y Ganllwyd Cairn and Cist is a prehistoric platform cairn located in Wales. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Cadw under reference ME221.
Craig y Ganllwyd Cairn and Cist dates from the prehistoric period, and is classified as a platform cairn. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Craig y Ganllwyd Cairn and Cist 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 ME221.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Cefn Coch Cairn and Cist (3.5 km), Foel Faner Defended Enclosure (5.3 km), Moel Offrwm Camp (5.5 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Craig y Ganllwyd Cairn and Cist'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 y Ganllwyd Cairn and Cist stands on Middle Cambrian, bedrock that formed in the Middle Cambrian. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.