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Crugiau Fach Round Barrows is a prehistoric round barrow cemetery protected as a scheduled ancient monument by Cadw. The site lies in Wales upon bedrock of Ashgill Rocks, composed of mudstone, siltstone and sandstone laid down during the Ashgill epoch of the Ordovician period. This underlying geology, with its mixed sedimentary layers, would have been worked by Bronze Age communities to gather material for constructing and mantling the earthen mounds.
Round barrows served as burial monuments during the Bronze Age, typically containing inhumations or cremations of individuals of status within their communities. The plural form of the site name indicates multiple mounds survive here, suggesting a substantial burial ground used over successive generations. Such cemeteries often accumulated around a primary mound, with later interments added nearby rather than forming isolated monuments.
The monument's survival and legal protection reflect its significance as evidence of Bronze Age settlement patterns and funerary practice in Wales. The local topography and geology would have influenced both the choice of burial location and the practical construction methods available to its builders. Crugiau Fach thus remains an important resource for understanding prehistoric communities and their use of the Welsh landscape.
Crugiau Fach Round Barrows is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference CM116. View the official record →
Crugiau Fach Round Barrows is a prehistoric round barrow cemetery protected as a scheduled ancient monument by Cadw.
Crugiau Fach Round Barrows dates from the prehistoric period, and is classified as a round barrow. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Crugiau Fach Round Barrows 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 CM116.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Ffos-y-Maen Standing Stone (4.4 km), Bwlch-Bychan Round Barrow (4.9 km), Defended Enclosure 300m W of Pen y Gar (5.1 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Crugiau Fach Round Barrows'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.
Crugiau Fach Round Barrows stands on Ashgill Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Ashgill. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.