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Maen Hir cairn cemetery is a prehistoric burial ground comprising multiple stone cairns. The site lies in Wales where the underlying bedrock consists of Llandovery Rocks, a formation of interbedded sandstone and conglomerate dating to the Llandovery period. This geology provided abundant stone suitable for cairn construction, and the builders made full use of the local material in creating their monuments.
The cemetery represents a significant phase of prehistoric funerary practice, when communities marked their dead with substantial stone structures across the Welsh landscape. Cairn cemeteries of this type typically accumulated burials over extended periods, with individual cairns sometimes reused or rebuilt by successive generations. The clustering of multiple cairns at a single location suggests this was a focal point for ritual activity and collective memory within the prehistoric community.
The site is protected as a scheduled monument under Cadw reference MG322, recognising its archaeological importance and contribution to understanding prehistoric settlement patterns and burial customs in Wales. The preservation of Maen Hir cairn cemetery enables continued study of these enduring monuments and the societies that created them.
Maen Hir cairn cemetery is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference MG322. View the official record →
Maen Hir cairn cemetery is a prehistoric burial ground comprising multiple stone cairns. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Cadw under reference MG322.
Maen Hir cairn cemetery dates from the prehistoric period, and is classified as a cairn cemetery. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Maen Hir cairn cemetery 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 MG322.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Craig y Lluest cairn cemetery (0.8 km), Hafod yr Abad Deserted Rural Settlement (1.1 km), Cistfaen barrows (1.1 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Maen Hir cairn cemetery'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.
Maen Hir cairn cemetery stands on Llandovery Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Llandovery. The rock here is sandstone and conglomerate, interbedded.