© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Cadw
Tal y Waen cairns is a prehistoric kerb cairn located in Wales and protected by Cadw under reference ME244. The monument consists of stones deliberately arranged in a circular or oval perimeter, a construction method characteristic of burial cairns dating to the Bronze Age or earlier periods across Britain and Ireland. This kerbing technique defined the monument's footprint and often contained cremated remains or inhumations within a central chamber or burial deposit.
The cairn sits upon bedrock formed from an unnamed igneous intrusion of Ordovician to Silurian age, specifically felsic rock laid down during the Silurian period. This geologically hard, acid-rich bedrock would have shaped the character of stones available for construction and the drainage conditions of the burial site. The local geology influenced both the practical feasibility of monument building and the preservation conditions for any human remains deposited within.
Kerb cairns of this type served as enduring territorial and ancestral markers in the prehistoric Welsh landscape. Their construction required significant community labour and planning, suggesting social importance beyond simple burial function. The monument remains a tangible record of Bronze Age or earlier funerary practice and social organisation in this region.
Tal y Waen cairns is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference ME244. View the official record →
Tal y Waen cairns is a prehistoric kerb cairn located in Wales and protected by Cadw under reference ME244.
Tal y Waen cairns dates from the prehistoric period, and is classified as a kerb cairn. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Tal y Waen cairns 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 ME244.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Carnedd Lwyd cairns (3.4 km), Llynnau Cregennen Standing Stone (4.5 km), Afon Arthog cup-marked rock (4.8 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Tal y Waen cairns'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.
Tal y Waen cairns stands on Unnamed Igneous Intrusion, Ordovician To Silurian, bedrock that formed in the Silurian. The rock here is felsic-rock.