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Orseddwen cairn is a prehistoric round cairn located in Wales and protected as a scheduled monument under Cadw reference DE292. Round cairns of this type are among the most enduring monuments of the Bronze Age, constructed as burial monuments and ritual centres across upland and lowland Britain. They typically comprise stone heaped over one or more graves, often surrounded by a kerb or ditch, and may have remained visible focal points in the landscape for centuries after their construction.
The cairn sits on Dinantian bedrock comprising limestone with subordinate sandstone and argillaceous rocks, geology that would have offered both the heavy stone necessary for cairn construction and the harder landscape typical of Bronze Age settlement zones in Wales. The surrounding geology reflects the Carboniferous period, a time far more ancient than the monument itself, which would have shaped both the stones available to its builders and the character of the upland terrain where such monuments cluster.
Orseddwen cairn survives as a tangible link to Bronze Age communities whose burial and ceremonial practices left permanent marks upon the Welsh landscape. The monument's preservation under statutory protection recognises its importance as evidence for prehistoric religious belief and funerary practice, and its presence contributes to understanding how ancient peoples used and transformed their local environment.
Orseddwen cairn is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference DE292. View the official record →
Orseddwen cairn is a prehistoric round cairn located in Wales and protected as a scheduled monument under Cadw reference DE292.
Orseddwen 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.
Orseddwen 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 DE292.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Offa's Dyke: section 300yds (270m) long, N of Pentre-Shannel (6.1 km), Offa's Dyke: section 380m west of Pottery Cottages (6.6 km), Trefarclawdd colliery remains immediately north of Pottery Cottages (6.6 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Orseddwen 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.
Orseddwen cairn stands on Dinantian Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Mississippian. The rock here is limestone with subordinate sandstone and argillaceous rocks.