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Foel Goch Round Cairn is a prehistoric burial monument situated in Wales, constructed upon bedrock of Ashgill age mudstone, siltstone and sandstone. Round cairns of this type are typically Bronze Age in date, though some may originate from the Neolithic period. The monument consists of a mound of stones raised over one or more burials, a funerary practice widespread across upland Britain during the second millennium BC. The underlying geology of Ashgill rocks, formed during the Ordovician period, would have provided readily available stone for cairn construction, and the elevated position would have made the burial conspicuous within the local landscape.
The cairn's construction exploited the natural stone resources of the Welsh uplands, where outcrops and weathered fragments of mudstone, siltstone and sandstone could be gathered and heaped over the dead. Such monuments frequently contained inhumed or cremated remains, sometimes accompanied by pottery vessels, flint tools or bronze objects, though the specific contents of Foel Goch remain unknown without modern excavation.
The monument is protected by Cadw, the Welsh heritage authority, under reference number CD257. This scheduled status ensures its preservation as an important record of Bronze Age burial practices and prehistoric settlement patterns in Wales.
Foel Goch Round Cairn is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference CD257. View the official record →
Foel Goch Round Cairn is a prehistoric burial monument situated in Wales, constructed upon bedrock of Ashgill age mudstone, siltstone and sandstone. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Cadw under reference CD257.
Foel Goch Round 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 Goch Round 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 CD257.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Cwmsymlog Lead Mine (9.1 km), Blaen Cwmsymlog Lead and Silver Mine (9.1 km), Standing Stones c.600m NE of Cwmdarren (9.2 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Foel Goch Round 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 Goch Round Cairn stands on Ashgill Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Ashgill. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.