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Esgair Ffraith Round Cairns is a prehistoric round cairn located in Wales and protected by Cadw under reference CM168. The monument sits upon bedrock formed from the Llandovery Series, composed of interbedded sandstone and conglomerate which would have provided readily available stone for cairn construction. This geological foundation, laid down during the Silurian period, has weathered over millennia to create the landscape in which the monument now stands.
Round cairns of this type typically date to the Bronze Age and served as burial monuments for high-status individuals, though some may have earlier Neolithic origins. The construction technique—heaping stones to create a mound—was well suited to the local geology at Esgair Ffraith, where suitable building material lay abundant beneath and around the site. Such cairns often contained a central burial chamber or grave goods, though the specific internal structure and any artefactual evidence from this particular monument would require archaeological investigation to establish.
The preservation of Esgair Ffraith Round Cairns under official protection recognises its significance as a record of prehistoric settlement and burial practices in Wales. The monument's survival allows it to contribute to our understanding of Bronze Age society and the relationship between ancient communities and their local environment.
Esgair Ffraith Round Cairns is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference CM168. View the official record →
Esgair Ffraith Round Cairns is a prehistoric round cairn located in Wales and protected by Cadw under reference CM168.
Esgair Ffraith Round Cairns 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.
Esgair Ffraith Round Cairns 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 CM168.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Cothi Roman Aqueduct (6.7 km), Caer Pencarreg (7.1 km), Banc Maes-yr-Haidd barrows (7.1 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Esgair Ffraith Round Cairns'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.
Esgair Ffraith Round Cairns stands on Llandovery Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Llandovery. The rock here is sandstone and conglomerate, interbedded.