Scheduled MonumentsWalesGarn Wen Round Cairn
Prehistoric · Round Cairn

Garn Wen Round Cairn

Breconshire, Wales
Cadw SAM BR103
Period
Prehistoric
Site type
Round Cairn
Broad class
Religious, Ritual and Funerary
Nation
Wales
Boundary

Scheduled area

© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Cadw

Overview

History & significance

Garn Wen Round Cairn is a prehistoric round cairn located in Wales and protected as a scheduled ancient monument by Cadw under reference BR103. The site sits upon Lower Devonian rocks comprising mudstone, siltstone and sandstone laid down during the Early Devonian period, which provide both the geological foundation and likely the primary source of stone used in the cairn's construction.

Round cairns of this type typically date to the Bronze Age and served as burial monuments, though the specific period of Garn Wen's construction has not been determined from the available evidence. The monument consists of a mound of carefully stacked stones, a construction method well suited to the locally available Devonian lithologies. The irregular weathered surface visible today reflects both the natural fracturing properties of these sedimentary rocks and millennia of exposure to the Welsh climate.

The designation as a Cadw-protected monument recognises Garn Wen's significance as a prehistoric survival and its contribution to understanding settlement, burial practice and land use in Bronze Age Wales. Its preservation on the Lower Devonian bedrock of the region provides archaeological evidence of how prehistoric communities adapted their monument-building techniques to local geological resources.

Garn Wen Round Cairn is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference BR103. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Garn Wen Round Cairn?

Garn Wen Round Cairn is a prehistoric round cairn located in Wales and protected as a scheduled ancient monument by Cadw under reference BR103.

What period does Garn Wen Round Cairn date from?

Garn Wen 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.

Who is responsible for protecting Garn Wen Round Cairn?

Garn Wen 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 BR103.

What other scheduled monuments are near Garn Wen Round Cairn?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Twyn Cerrig-Cadarn Round Cairn (2.6 km), Stone Circle and Round Cairn W of Ynyshir (2.8 km), Tir-cyd Deserted Rural Settlement (3.1 km).

Unlimited access

Everything a full report reveals about Garn Wen Round Cairn

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Garn Wen Round Cairn'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.
First month just £4.99, then £9.99 a month. Unlimited locations, cancel anytime.

Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.

Start your Garn Wen Round Cairn report
Or see a real report first
The ground beneath

The bedrock under Garn Wen Round Cairn

Garn Wen Round Cairn stands on Lower Devonian Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Early Devonian. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.