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Graig cairn is a prehistoric round cairn located in Wales and protected by Cadw under reference DE295. The monument sits upon bedrock of Ludlow Rocks formation, comprising mudstone, siltstone and sandstone layers that date to the Ludlow period. These fine-grained sedimentary deposits would have been readily visible in the local landscape during the cairn's construction, potentially providing material for the monument itself or simply forming the solid geological foundation upon which it was built.
Round cairns of this type typically date to the Bronze Age and served as burial monuments for prominent community members. The Ludlow Rocks geology underlying the site reflects the ancient marine environment that once covered Wales, with the harder sandstone bands interspersed within the softer mudstone offering natural stone suitable for cairn construction. Such monuments were often sited on elevated or prominent locations, commanding views across the surrounding terrain.
The cairn represents an important element of Bronze Age funerary practice in Wales. Its survival into the modern period, despite millennia of natural erosion and human activity on the surrounding landscape, underscores its significance. The protection afforded by Cadw ensures that this prehistoric monument and the archaeological evidence it may contain remain preserved for future study and public understanding of Wales's early past.
Graig cairn is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference DE295. View the official record →
Graig cairn is a prehistoric round cairn located in Wales and protected by Cadw under reference DE295.
Graig 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.
Graig 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 DE295.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Offa's Dyke: section 410m long, E of Llawnt (6.6 km), Offa's Dyke: section 400yds (370m) long, E of Llawnt (7 km), Offa's Dyke: section one mile 1000yds (2520m) long, N of Llanforda Mill (8.2 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Graig 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.
Graig cairn stands on Ludlow Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Ludlow. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.