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Plas-Meifod Round Barrow is a prehistoric burial mound situated in Wales on bedrock of Dinantian limestone and associated sandstones and mudstones. These grey Mississippian rocks, which underlie the monument, were laid down in shallow tropical seas over 320 million years ago and form the natural foundation upon which the barrow was constructed. The mound itself represents a significant investment of labour, typical of Bronze Age funerary practice across Britain and Wales, when communities built earthen monuments to mark the graves of prominent individuals or family groups.
Round barrows are amongst the most distinctive prehistoric monuments in the British landscape, with thousands constructed during the Bronze Age, roughly 2200 to 700 BC. They typically contain one or more inhumations, sometimes accompanied by pottery, metalwork or stone tools, though their contents vary considerably. The presence of such a monument at Plas-Meifod indicates that this location held importance to prehistoric communities, whether for its visibility across the surrounding landscape or its proximity to contemporary settlements and routeways.
Plas-Meifod Round Barrow is protected by Cadw, the historic monuments service of Wales, under the reference DE051. This designation ensures the preservation of the earthwork itself and its archaeological potential, allowing future generations to study this physical link to Bronze Age Welsh society and burial custom.
Plas-Meifod Round Barrow is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference DE051. View the official record →
Plas-Meifod Round Barrow is a prehistoric burial mound situated in Wales on bedrock of Dinantian limestone and associated sandstones and mudstones. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Cadw under reference DE051.
Plas-Meifod Round Barrow dates from the prehistoric period, and is classified as a round barrow. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Plas-Meifod 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 DE051.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Old Foxhall Round Barrow (1 km), Denbigh Town Walls (3.3 km), St Hilary's Chapel (3.4 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Plas-Meifod 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.
Plas-Meifod Round Barrow stands on Dinantian Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Mississippian. The rock here is limestone with subordinate sandstone and argillaceous rocks.