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Round Cairn SE of Maen Llia is a prehistoric round cairn located in Wales and protected by Cadw under reference BR261. The monument sits upon bedrock of Lower Devonian age, comprising sandstone and conglomerate strata laid down during the Early Devonian period. This geology would have made the surrounding landscape a source of suitable stone for cairn construction.
Round cairns of this type typically date to the Bronze Age and served as burial monuments. Built as substantial heaps of stone, they often contained central burial chambers or cists where the remains of the dead were placed. The form represents one of the most enduring and widespread monument types across prehistoric Britain and Ireland, reflecting consistent burial practices over many centuries.
The cairn's position near Maen Llia, a significant upland location in Wales, places it within a landscape long favoured for monument building. Such elevated sites frequently supported clusters of prehistoric structures, suggesting these areas held particular importance for the communities that constructed and used them. The survival of this cairn preserves evidence of Bronze Age settlement patterns and funerary traditions in the Welsh uplands.
Round Cairn SE of Maen Llia is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference BR261. View the official record →
Round Cairn SE of Maen Llia is a prehistoric round cairn located in Wales and protected by Cadw under reference BR261.
Round Cairn SE of Maen Llia 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.
Round Cairn SE of Maen Llia 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 BR261.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Carn yr Arian Cairn (6.6 km), Cader Fawr Round Cairn (8.4 km), Cadair Fawr settlement (8.9 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Round Cairn SE of Maen Llia'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.
Round Cairn SE of Maen Llia stands on Lower Devonian Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Early Devonian. The rock here is sandstone and conglomerate, interbedded.