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Croes y Bwlchgwyn Round Cairn is a prehistoric round cairn situated on bedrock of the South Wales Upper Coal Measures Formation. The underlying geology comprises mudstone, siltstone and sandstone interbedded with coal seams and ironstone, typical of the Westphalian period deposits that characterise much of the South Wales coalfield. The ferricrete layer found within this sequence would have provided weathered iron-rich rock suitable for cairn construction. As a round cairn, the monument likely dates to the Bronze Age and served as a burial marker or ceremonial site for a Prehistoric community exploiting this upland terrain. The specific topography and local stone resources of the Bwlchgwyn location would have influenced both the monument's construction and its prominence in the local landscape. The cairn is protected by Cadw, the Welsh Historic Monuments service, under reference GM250, ensuring its preservation as an important record of Prehistoric settlement and funerary practice in Wales.
Croes y Bwlchgwyn Round Cairn is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference GM250. View the official record →
Croes y Bwlchgwyn Round Cairn is a prehistoric round cairn situated on bedrock of the South Wales Upper Coal Measures Formation. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Cadw under reference GM250.
Croes y Bwlchgwyn 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.
Croes y Bwlchgwyn 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 GM250.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Cefn Cribwr Ironworks (8.3 km), Cefn Cross Standing Stone (8.3 km), Three Pillow Mounds on Cefn Hirgoed (8.4 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Croes y Bwlchgwyn 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.
Croes y Bwlchgwyn Round Cairn stands on South Wales Upper Coal Measures Formation, bedrock that formed in the Westphalian. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone, sandstone, coal, ironstone and ferricrete.