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Cyrn y Brain Round Barrows is a prehistoric round barrow located in Wales and protected as a scheduled monument by Cadw. The site sits upon bedrock of Ashgill rocks, a formation of mudstone, siltstone and sandstone laid down during the Ashgill period of the Ordovician. This underlying geology, characteristic of upland Welsh terrain, would have presented particular challenges to those constructing the barrow, requiring substantial effort to gather and move stone across the difficult landscape.
Round barrows of this type typically date to the Bronze Age and served as burial monuments for individuals of status within prehistoric communities. The mound would originally have covered an inhumation or cremation burial, often accompanied by grave goods reflecting the deceased's social position. The barrow's construction involved heaping earth and stone into a distinctive rounded form, sometimes surrounded by a ditch or bank.
The monument's survival to the present day reflects both its remote Welsh location and its official protection under Cadw, which recognises its significance as evidence of Bronze Age funerary practice and social organisation. The barrow remains an important archaeological resource for understanding prehistoric settlement patterns and burial customs in this region of Wales.
Cyrn y Brain Round Barrows is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference DE065. View the official record →
Cyrn y Brain Round Barrows is a prehistoric round barrow located in Wales and protected as a scheduled monument by Cadw. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Cadw under reference DE065.
Cyrn y Brain 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.
Cyrn y Brain 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 DE065.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Creigiau Eglwyseg Round Barrows & Earth Circle (4.2 km), Creigiau Eglwyseg Stone Circle (4.2 km), Eliseg's Pillar & Tumulus (4.4 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Cyrn y Brain 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.
Cyrn y Brain Round Barrows stands on Ashgill Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Ashgill. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.