© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Cadw
Rhos-Gwawr cairn cemetery is a prehistoric round cairn located in Wales and protected as a scheduled monument by Cadw under reference GM404. The cairn sits upon bedrock of the South Wales Upper Coal Measures Formation, which dates to the Westphalian period and comprises mudstone, siltstone, sandstone, coal, ironstone and ferricrete. This geology would have presented both constraints and opportunities to those constructing the monument, as the underlying strata determined the available stone for cairn construction and the character of the surrounding landscape.
Round cairns such as this example were typically built during the Bronze Age as burial monuments to house cremated remains and grave goods within their stone structures. The "cemetery" designation suggests multiple burial episodes or features concentrated at this location, indicating the site held significance for successive generations of a prehistoric community.
The monument survives as a tangible record of Bronze Age burial practices in Wales. Its protected status recognises its archaeological importance and ensures preservation of the physical remains and the buried sequences that may yet contribute to understanding funerary ritual and settlement patterns in the Coal Measures landscape of south Wales.
Rhos-Gwawr cairn cemetery is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference GM404. View the official record →
Rhos-Gwawr cairn cemetery is a prehistoric round cairn located in Wales and protected as a scheduled monument by Cadw under reference GM404.
Rhos-Gwawr cairn cemetery 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.
Rhos-Gwawr cairn cemetery 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 GM404.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Carn-y-Pigwn Round Cairn (3.4 km), Tarren Maerdy cairn (W) (3.6 km), Tarren Maerdy cairn (E) (3.7 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Rhos-Gwawr cairn cemetery'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.
Rhos-Gwawr cairn cemetery stands on South Wales Upper Coal Measures Formation, bedrock that formed in the Westphalian. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone, sandstone, coal, ironstone and ferricrete.