Scheduled MonumentsWalesFron Ddu Round Barrow
Prehistoric · Round Barrow

Fron Ddu Round Barrow

Ceredigion, Wales
Cadw SAM CD124
Period
Prehistoric
Site type
Round Barrow
Broad class
Religious, Ritual and Funerary
Nation
Wales
The designation
Reference
Cadw SAM CD124
Authority
Cadw
Designated
1961-11-20
Boundary

Scheduled area

© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Cadw

Overview

History & significance

Fron Ddu Round Barrow is a prehistoric round barrow located in Wales and protected by Cadw under reference CD124. The monument sits above bedrock of Llandovery rocks, undifferentiated deposits of mudstone, siltstone and sandstone formed during the Llandovery period. This geological foundation provided the local material from which the barrow mound itself was constructed, as was typical practice for Neolithic and Bronze Age communities building burial monuments across Britain and Wales.

Round barrows represent the dominant burial tradition of the Bronze Age in Britain and Wales, typically containing inhumation or cremation deposits of high-status individuals. The substantial earthwork construction required considerable community effort, suggesting the person or family interred held significant social standing. The Llandovery geology surrounding the barrow would have been familiar to the prehistoric inhabitants who built and used the monument.

The barrow's survival to the present day reflects its protected status, preserving evidence of Bronze Age mortuary practice and community organisation. The monument remains an important record of prehistoric settlement patterns and ritual behaviour in this part of Wales, contributing to wider understanding of how ancient societies marked and memorialised their dead within the landscape.

Fron Ddu Round Barrow is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference CD124. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Fron Ddu Round Barrow?

Fron Ddu Round Barrow is a prehistoric round barrow located in Wales and protected by Cadw under reference CD124.

What period does Fron Ddu Round Barrow date from?

Fron Ddu Round Barrow 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.

Who is responsible for protecting Fron Ddu Round Barrow?

Fron Ddu Round Barrow 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 CD124.

What other scheduled monuments are near Fron Ddu Round Barrow?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Nant Bryn Isaf Ring Cairn (6.5 km), Cairn S of Banc y Geufron (6.8 km), Gareg-lwyd Defended Enclosure (7.3 km).

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Everything a full report reveals about Fron Ddu Round Barrow

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Fron Ddu Round Barrow'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 Fron Ddu Round Barrow

Fron Ddu Round Barrow stands on Llandovery Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Llandovery. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.