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Whilgarn Ring Cairn is a prehistoric ring cairn located in Wales and protected by Cadw as a scheduled ancient monument. Ring cairns of this type typically date to the Bronze Age and consist of a circular or oval arrangement of stones surrounding an open or partially filled central space, distinguishing them from the solid mounds of passage graves or round barrows. They served primarily as burial monuments or ritual structures, though their precise function remains debated amongst archaeologists.
The monument stands upon bedrock formed from Llandovery rocks, an undifferentiated sequence of mudstone, siltstone and sandstone deposited during the Llandovery period of the Ordovician era. This geology has profoundly shaped the landscape and the materials available to those who constructed the cairn in prehistory. The local stone sources would have been essential to the monument's builders in assembling the carefully arranged stonework that defines its form.
As a scheduled ancient monument under Cadw reference CD165, Whilgarn Ring Cairn remains an important archaeological site within Wales's prehistoric heritage. Such monuments contribute significantly to understanding Bronze Age burial practices and the ritual landscape of prehistoric Wales, reflecting the cultural priorities and engineering capabilities of communities living thousands of years ago.
Whilgarn Ring Cairn is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference CD165. View the official record →
Whilgarn Ring Cairn is a prehistoric ring cairn located in Wales and protected by Cadw as a scheduled ancient monument.
Whilgarn Ring Cairn dates from the prehistoric period, and is classified as a ring cairn. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Whilgarn Ring 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 CD165.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Penlan-Noeth, Round Barrow 230m NNW of (2.5 km), Castell 270m E of Moeddyn-Fach (2.7 km), Castell Moeddyn (3.7 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Whilgarn Ring 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.
Whilgarn Ring Cairn stands on Llandovery Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Llandovery. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.