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Tarren Hendre Cairn is a prehistoric round cairn situated in Wales and protected as a scheduled monument by Cadw under reference ME041. The monument sits upon bedrock composed of Ashgill Rocks, Undifferentiated, a geological formation of mudstone, siltstone and sandstone typical of the Ashgill period. This stony substratum would have presented considerable challenges to those who constructed the cairn, as they laboured to gather and position stones to create their burial or ceremonial monument.
Round cairns of this type commonly served as burial places or ritual sites during the prehistoric period, though their precise age and function often remain uncertain without systematic investigation. The monument's location on the sloping terrain of Wales, with its underlying mixed sedimentary geology, reflects the resourcefulness of prehistoric communities in selecting elevated sites across challenging landscape.
Today Tarren Hendre Cairn remains a tangible link to the prehistoric inhabitants of Wales, its stones still marking the ground where communities once gathered for ceremonies or interment. The monument's survival, protected under Cadw's statutory framework, ensures this important archaeological feature continues to inform our understanding of prehistoric Welsh society and settlement patterns.
Tarren Hendre Cairn is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference ME041. View the official record →
Tarren Hendre Cairn is a prehistoric round cairn situated in Wales and protected as a scheduled monument by Cadw under reference ME041.
Tarren Hendre Cairn 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.
Tarren Hendre Cairn 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 ME041.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Water Powered Chain Incline at Bryneglwys Slate Quarry (1.5 km), Alltwyllt Slate Quarry Incline (2.6 km), Tomen Las Castle Mound (3.9 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Tarren Hendre Cairn'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.
Tarren Hendre Cairn stands on Ashgill Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Ashgill. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.