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Cwm Rhiwiau Stone Circle is a prehistoric monument located in Wales, comprising a ring of upright stones set upon Caradoc Rocks bedrock. The underlying geology consists of mudstone, siltstone and sandstone formations dating to the Caradocian period, which provided local stone for construction and shaped the landscape in which the circle was built. The monument is characteristic of Bronze Age ritual sites found across upland Britain, positioned to command views of the surrounding terrain.
The circle sits within a landscape of weathered sedimentary deposits that have influenced the character of the site. Its positioning on this particular geology would have been significant to its builders, who selected suitable stone from the local bedrock for the uprights. The exposed Caradoc Rocks outcrops in the vicinity provide evidence of the stone sources available to prehistoric communities in this region.
Cwm Rhiwiau Stone Circle is protected by Cadw, the Welsh heritage organisation, and is registered under reference MG263. The monument survives as a tangible link to the ritual practices and territorial awareness of prehistoric Welsh communities, offering insights into how ancient peoples engaged with the distinctive geology and topography of upland Wales.
Cwm Rhiwiau Stone Circle is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference MG263. View the official record →
Cwm Rhiwiau Stone Circle is a prehistoric monument located in Wales, comprising a ring of upright stones set upon Caradoc Rocks bedrock. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Cadw under reference MG263.
Cwm Rhiwiau Stone Circle dates from the prehistoric period, and is classified as a stone circle. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Cwm Rhiwiau Stone Circle 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 MG263.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Y Gribin Round Cairn (4.5 km), Ty'n-y-Celyn Castle Mound (6.2 km), Ty Ucha Farmstead, Cwm Llech, Llangynog, Powys (6.4 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Cwm Rhiwiau Stone Circle'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.
Cwm Rhiwiau Stone Circle stands on Caradoc Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Caradocian. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.