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Waun Cyrn is a prehistoric round cairn situated in Wales and protected by Cadw as a scheduled monument under reference BR358. The cairn stands on bedrock of Dinantian age, a geological formation dominated by limestone with subordinate sandstone and argillaceous rocks that date to the Mississippian period. This carboniferous geology would have provided readily available stone for cairn construction, with both the limestone and harder sandstone blocks suitable for building the monument's structure.
Round cairns of this type typically date to the Bronze Age and served as burial monuments, often covering inhumations or cremations within stone-built chambers or cists. The limestone bedrock surrounding Waun Cyrn would have exposed natural stone surfaces and provided accessible quarried material, making this location practical for constructing a substantial stone monument. The survival of the cairn to the present day reflects both the durability of the local stone and the monument's continued recognition as an important archaeological feature.
The site remains an integral part of Wales's Bronze Age heritage, documenting prehistoric burial practices and territorial land use across the Carboniferous limestone landscapes of the region. As a protected monument, Waun Cyrn contributes to understanding the distribution and character of round cairns across this geological zone, preserving evidence of communities whose engagement with the local stone resources shaped the monuments they built to honour their dead.
Waun Cyrn round cairn is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference BR358. View the official record →
Waun Cyrn is a prehistoric round cairn situated in Wales and protected by Cadw as a scheduled monument under reference BR358.
Waun Cyrn round 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.
Waun Cyrn round 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 BR358.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Brake Engine on Hill Pits Tramroad Incline (5.7 km), Old Coal Pits, Blaenavon (6 km), Garn Road Powder House 300m ENE of Ashgrove Bungalow (6.1 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Waun Cyrn round 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.
Waun Cyrn round cairn stands on Dinantian Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Mississippian. The rock here is limestone with subordinate sandstone and argillaceous rocks.