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Foel Cwm Sian Llŵyd cairn is a prehistoric round cairn situated in Wales and protected by Cadw under reference ME243. The monument stands on bedrock composed of Wenlock Rocks, an undifferentiated formation of sandstone and conglomerate laid down in the Wenlock epoch. This geological substrate, with its interbedded layers of harder and softer stone, would have influenced both the construction of the cairn and the landscape that the builders encountered.
Round cairns of this type typically date to the Neolithic or Bronze Age and served as burial monuments or territorial markers. Their construction required the gathering and stacking of stone from the local landscape, a labour-intensive process that reflects the social significance of the site. The local geology would have supplied the building materials directly from the surrounding terrain.
The cairn survives as a monument to prehistoric practices and settlement patterns in Wales. Its preservation under Cadw's protection ensures that this evidence of ancient land use and burial custom remains available for study and public interpretation as part of Wales's archaeological heritage.
Foel Cwm Sian Llŵyd cairn is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference ME243. View the official record →
Foel Cwm Sian Llŵyd cairn is a prehistoric round cairn situated in Wales and protected by Cadw under reference ME243.
Foel Cwm Sian Llŵyd cairn 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.
Foel Cwm Sian Llŵyd cairn 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 ME243.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Y Gribin Round Cairn (6.6 km), Foel y Geifr Cairn (7.3 km), Ty Ucha Farmstead, Cwm Llech, Llangynog, Powys (7.4 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Foel Cwm Sian Llŵyd cairn'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.
Foel Cwm Sian Llŵyd cairn stands on Wenlock Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Wenlock. The rock here is sandstone and conglomerate, interbedded.