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Pen y Crogben Round Barrow is a medieval gallows located in Wales, protected by Cadw under reference MG105. Despite its archaeological classification as a round barrow, the monument served a judicial function in the medieval period as a place of execution. The structure sits upon bedrock composed of Llandovery Rocks, an undifferentiated sequence of mudstone, siltstone and sandstone laid down during the Llandovery epoch of the Silurian period, some 440 million years ago. This geological foundation provided a stable base for the monument's construction.
The reuse or repurposing of prehistoric burial mounds as sites of justice was not uncommon in medieval Wales. The prominent, elevated position of such barrows made them visible and accessible gathering places, whilst their ancient associations may have reinforced the authority of the sentence carried out. The monument's dual identity—as both prehistoric burial structure and medieval judicial site—reflects the long human occupation of the Welsh landscape.
Cadw's protection of Pen y Crogben Round Barrow ensures the survival of evidence relating to both its original funerary purpose and its later role in medieval administration. The site remains an important reminder of how successive periods of Welsh history left their marks upon the same physical locations.
Pen y Crogben Round Barrow is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference MG105. View the official record →
Pen y Crogben Round Barrow is a medieval gallows located in Wales, protected by Cadw under reference MG105.
Pen y Crogben Round Barrow dates from the medieval period, and is classified as a gallows. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Pen y Crogben Round Barrow 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 MG105.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Barrow Group W of Staylittle (3.2 km), Hengwm Ring Cairns (4 km), Carn Fach Bugeilyn (4.2 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Pen y Crogben Round Barrow'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 y Crogben Round Barrow stands on Llandovery Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Llandovery. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.