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Pen Gloch-y-pibwr is a prehistoric platform cairn located in Wales, protected by Cadw as a scheduled monument under reference BR307. The site occupies the southern end of a ridge, where Upper Devonian sandstone and conglomerate bedrock provides a naturally elevated foundation. This geological setting—formed during the Late Devonian period when shallow seas covered this region—would have offered early builders a stable, prominent location for their ceremonial or burial structure.
Platform cairns are distinctive monuments of the Neolithic and early Bronze Age, consisting of artificially flattened or built-up platforms with stone heaps constructed upon them. Rather than being simple burial mounds, they often served as communal gathering places or ceremonial centres, though precise functions remain subject to interpretation. Their substantial construction required considerable communal effort, reflecting the social significance of their sites.
The monument's survival on this outcrop of resistant Devonian rock has been crucial to its preservation. Cadw's scheduled monument status ensures ongoing protection, allowing future archaeological study to contribute to understanding the social and ritual practices of prehistoric Welsh communities and their relationship with this upland landscape.
Pen Gloch-y-pibwr, platform cairn on S end of is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference BR307. View the official record →
Pen Gloch-y-pibwr is a prehistoric platform cairn located in Wales, protected by Cadw as a scheduled monument under reference BR307.
Pen Gloch-y-pibwr, platform cairn on S end of dates from the prehistoric period, and is classified as a platform cairn. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Pen Gloch-y-pibwr, platform cairn on S end of 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 BR307.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Llangattock Tramroad Inclines (7.1 km), Mynydd Llangattock round cairn (7.8 km), Defended Enclosure 350m NNW of Ty-Uchaf (8.2 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Pen Gloch-y-pibwr, platform cairn on S end of'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.
Pen Gloch-y-pibwr, platform cairn on S end of stands on Upper Devonian Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Late Devonian. The rock here is sandstone and conglomerate, interbedded.