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Merthyr Common Round Cairns is a prehistoric round cairn located in Wales and protected as a scheduled monument by Cadw under reference GM222. The site sits on bedrock of the South Wales Upper Coal Measures Formation, a Westphalian-period sequence of mudstone, siltstone and sandstone interspersed with coal seams, ironstone and ferricrete bands. This substantial underlying geology shaped both the local landscape and the available stone resources used in the cairn's construction.
Round cairns of this type typically date to the Bronze Age and served as burial monuments, often marking the resting places of individuals or small family groups of elevated social status. The construction of such cairns required considerable labour and reflected the communities' investment in commemorating their dead through durable stone monuments placed prominently on the upland landscape.
The monument's survival to the present day, despite the industrial history of the surrounding Merthyr area, represents a rare physical link to the prehistoric communities who occupied these upland commons. The site's protected status ensures that this evidence of early funerary practice remains available for archaeological study and public heritage interpretation.
Merthyr Common Round Cairns is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference GM222. View the official record →
Merthyr Common Round Cairns is a prehistoric round cairn located in Wales and protected as a scheduled monument by Cadw under reference GM222.
Merthyr Common Round Cairns 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.
Merthyr Common Round Cairns 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 GM222.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Tir Lan round barrow cemetery (4.6 km), Brynbychan Round Cairn (4.7 km), Capel Gwladys (6.1 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Merthyr Common Round Cairns'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.
Merthyr Common Round Cairns 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.