© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Cadw
Tarren Maerdy cairn is a prehistoric round cairn located in Wales and protected by Cadw as a scheduled ancient monument under reference GM576. The site sits upon bedrock of the South Wales Upper Coal Measures Formation, a geological sequence laid down during the Westphalian period and comprising mudstone, siltstone, sandstone, coal, ironstone and ferricrete. This distinctive underlying geology, characteristic of the South Wales coalfield, would have shaped both the landscape visible to those who built the cairn and the stone materials available to them for construction.
Round cairns of this type were typically erected during the Bronze Age as burial monuments, often serving as focal points in the contemporary landscape. Their construction involved the deliberate heaping of stone, and their prominence made them enduring markers of the dead across generations.
The monument's survival to the present day, despite centuries of activity in the coalfield region, testifies to its significance. Its protected status ensures that this Bronze Age burial monument remains a physical link to prehistoric communities who inhabited the upland regions of Wales.
Tarren Maerdy cairn (W) is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference GM576. View the official record →
Tarren Maerdy cairn is a prehistoric round cairn located in Wales and protected by Cadw as a scheduled ancient monument under reference GM576.
Tarren Maerdy cairn (W) 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 Maerdy cairn (W) 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 GM576.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Tarren Maerdy cairn (E) (0.1 km), Mynydd Ty'n-tyle cairns (1.6 km), Mynydd Maendy Hillfort (2.8 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Tarren Maerdy cairn (W)'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 Maerdy cairn (W) 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.