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Mynydd Pen-y-fal round cairns is a prehistoric round cairn located in Wales and protected by Cadw under reference BR318. The monument sits on bedrock of Lower Devonian sandstone and conglomerate, interbedded deposits laid down during the Early Devonian period. This solid geological foundation of mixed sedimentary rock underlies the upland terrain where the cairn was constructed.
Round cairns of this type were typically built during the Bronze Age as funerary monuments, comprising stone heaps raised over burial deposits. The particular geology of Mynydd Pen-y-fal, with its accessible sandstone and conglomerate bedrock, would have provided suitable stone for construction. The elevated situation on the mountain favoured visibility and prominence in the surrounding landscape.
The monument remains an important archaeological resource, its protected status reflecting its value to understanding prehistoric settlement and burial practices in upland Wales. The cairn's preservation allows for future study of its construction methods and the Bronze Age communities who built it, whilst the underlying Devonian geology provides context for the natural resources available to those ancient populations.
Mynydd Pen-y-fal round cairns is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference BR318. View the official record →
Mynydd Pen-y-fal round cairns is a prehistoric round cairn located in Wales and protected by Cadw under reference BR318.
Mynydd Pen-y-fal 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.
Mynydd Pen-y-fal 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 BR318.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Iron and coal patching at Pen-ffordd-goch (8.7 km), Coal and Iron Ore Workings West of Abergavenny Road, Blaenavon (8.7 km), Limekiln and Quarries at Craig-yr-Hafod (8.7 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Mynydd Pen-y-fal 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.
Mynydd Pen-y-fal round cairns stands on Lower Devonian Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Early Devonian. The rock here is sandstone and conglomerate, interbedded.