Scheduled MonumentsWalesGarreg Wen round barrow
Prehistoric · Round Barrow

Garreg Wen round barrow

Carmarthenshire, Wales
Cadw SAM CM318
Period
Prehistoric
Site type
Round Barrow
Broad class
Religious, Ritual and Funerary
Nation
Wales
The designation
Reference
Cadw SAM CM318
Authority
Cadw
Designated
2003-02-07
Boundary

Scheduled area

© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Cadw

Overview

History & significance

Garreg Wen round barrow is a prehistoric funerary monument situated in Wales and protected as a Scheduled Monument under Cadw reference CM318. Round barrows of this type were raised across Britain during the Bronze Age as burial mounds for individuals of status, typically containing inhumation or cremation remains within a central chamber or pit. The monument sits upon bedrock composed of Ashgill Rocks, an undifferentiated sequence of mudstone, siltstone and sandstone formed during the Ashgill period of the Ordovician, which provides the natural geological foundation across much of the surrounding landscape.

The barrow represents a significant marker of Bronze Age burial practice and social organisation. Such monuments were often constructed with stone and earth, creating distinctive circular mounds visible across the Welsh uplands and lowlands. The Ashgill bedrock, resistant to erosion, has helped preserve the monument's structural integrity over millennia.

Garreg Wen remains an important archaeological resource, its protected status reflecting its value in understanding prehistoric settlement patterns and funerary customs in Wales. The barrow contributes to the wider distribution of Bronze Age monuments across the region, providing evidence of how communities marked and maintained significant burial sites within their territorial landscape.

Garreg Wen round barrow is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference CM318. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Garreg Wen round barrow?

Garreg Wen round barrow is a prehistoric funerary monument situated in Wales and protected as a Scheduled Monument under Cadw reference CM318.

What period does Garreg Wen round barrow date from?

Garreg Wen 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 Garreg Wen round barrow?

Garreg Wen 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 CM318.

What other scheduled monuments are near Garreg Wen round barrow?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Crug Ieuan Round Barrow (2.3 km), Capel Bettws (4.1 km), Garreg Wen Standing Stone (4.2 km).

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Everything a full report reveals about Garreg Wen round barrow

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Garreg Wen 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 Garreg Wen round barrow

Garreg Wen round barrow stands on Ashgill Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Ashgill. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.