Scheduled MonumentsWalesDyffryn Ardudwy Chambered Tomb
Prehistoric · Hut Circle Settlement

Dyffryn Ardudwy Chambered Tomb

Meirionnydd, Wales
Cadw SAM ME003
Period
Prehistoric
Site type
Hut Circle Settlement
Broad class
Religious, Ritual and Funerary
Nation
Wales
Boundary

Scheduled area

© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Cadw

Overview

History & significance

Dyffryn Ardudwy Chambered Tomb is a prehistoric burial monument located in Wales and protected by Cadw as a scheduled ancient monument. The site comprises a chambered tomb associated with a hut circle settlement, representing evidence of occupation and ritual activity from the Neolithic or Early Bronze Age period. The monument sits upon Eocene to Miocene bedrock, specifically clay, silt, sand and gravel deposits laid down during the Miocene epoch, geology which has shaped the landscape and availability of building materials throughout the site's history.

The chambered tomb itself reflects the monumental burial practices characteristic of prehistoric Wales, where communal tombs served both as repositories for the dead and as prominent territorial markers within the landscape. The associated hut circles indicate permanent or semi-permanent settlement in close proximity to the burial monument, suggesting the community maintained both domestic and ceremonial functions at this location.

The soft geological foundation of clay and silt would have presented specific challenges and opportunities for the monument's construction and subsequent preservation. The site remains an important archaeological resource for understanding prehistoric settlement patterns and mortuary practices in the Welsh landscape, and its protection by Cadw ensures its preservation for future research and public understanding of Wales's ancient heritage.

Dyffryn Ardudwy Chambered Tomb is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference ME003. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Dyffryn Ardudwy Chambered Tomb?

Dyffryn Ardudwy Chambered Tomb is a prehistoric burial monument located in Wales and protected by Cadw as a scheduled ancient monument.

What period does Dyffryn Ardudwy Chambered Tomb date from?

Dyffryn Ardudwy Chambered Tomb dates from the prehistoric period, and is classified as a hut circle settlement. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.

Who is responsible for protecting Dyffryn Ardudwy Chambered Tomb?

Dyffryn Ardudwy Chambered Tomb 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 ME003.

What other scheduled monuments are near Dyffryn Ardudwy Chambered Tomb?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Enclosed Hut Circle Settlement and Long huts E of Egryn Abbey (2.9 km), Settlement & Fields Systems above Egryn Abbey (3.1 km), Mynydd Egryn Ring Cairn (3.7 km).

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Everything a full report reveals about Dyffryn Ardudwy Chambered Tomb

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Dyffryn Ardudwy Chambered Tomb's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:

Overview
An interactive map of the location with every monument and battle plotted, and a plain-language history built only from what the record holds.
Monuments
The legally protected scheduled monuments around the location, each with its period, type and significance.
Battlefields
The battles and sieges fought on this ground, mapped and set on a timeline of the wider conflict.
Roman Britain
The Roman roads, forts and towns near here, and the Iron Age people who held the land before Rome arrived.
Civil War
The Civil War fighting, garrisons and recorded militaria in this area, woven into the arc of 1642 to 1651.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back hundreds of millions of years.
Local Names
What the street and field names around here actually mean, and the history buried inside them.
Historical Maps
Ordnance Survey maps from the 1800s, layered over the location as it stands today.
Literature
The books, county histories, charters and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.
Legal
The protected sites nearby and the metal-detecting, access and treasure laws that apply to this ground.
Spotlight
A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.
Target Zones
For detectorists: the most promising ground to search nearby, ranked by confidence, with what to expect.
Timeline
The whole story of the location told era by era, from prehistory to the present day.
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The ground beneath

The bedrock under Dyffryn Ardudwy Chambered Tomb

Dyffryn Ardudwy Chambered Tomb stands on Eocene To Miocene Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Miocene. The rock here is clay, silt, sand and gravel.