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Garn Bica is a prehistoric round cairn located in Wales and protected by Cadw under reference GM539. The monument sits on bedrock of the South Wales Upper Coal Measures Formation, a sequence of Westphalian sedimentary rocks comprising mudstone, siltstone, sandstone, coal, ironstone and ferricrete. This geology is characteristic of the South Wales coalfield region, where ancient communities built their funerary monuments on slopes and elevated terrain within a landscape of mixed mineral resources.
As a round cairn, Garn Bica represents a burial tradition widespread across prehistoric Britain, typically constructed from locally gathered stone. The monument's form and construction would have been adapted to the steeply angled strata and weathered rock outcrops of the Upper Coal Measures terrain. Such cairns commonly date to the Neolithic and Bronze Age periods, serving as prominent markers for burial places within the settled landscape.
The survival of Garn Bica reflects the durability of stone monuments in this geological setting, where the ferricrete and sandstone of the bedrock provided enduring materials. The cairn's protected status recognises its archaeological and heritage value as evidence of prehistoric settlement and funerary practice in the South Wales valleys.
Garn Bica is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference GM539. View the official record →
Garn Bica is a prehistoric round cairn located in Wales and protected by Cadw under reference GM539.
Garn Bica 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.
Garn Bica 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 GM539.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Mynydd Maendy Hillfort (5.2 km), Crug yr Afan Round Cairn (5.5 km), Bwlch yr Avan Dyke (5.8 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Garn Bica'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.
Garn Bica stands on South Wales Upper Coal Measures Formation, bedrock that formed in the Westphalian. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone, sandstone, coal, ironstone and ferricrete.