ME136

Hengwm Stone Circles  

11/10/1993  

Designated  

Gwynedd  

Dyffryn Ardudwy  

261640  

321306  

Religious, Ritual and Funerary  

Stone Circle  

Prehistoric  

The following provides a general description of the Scheduled Monument. The monument comprises the remains of two stone circles, which probably date to the Early Bronze Age. Only a few stones now remain but traces of a bank and ditch can be identified around each. The sites lie in upland improved pasture. ME136A (S circle) The bank of this circle is faint but discernible. Four stones are visible with one outlier 5m to the S of the southernmost stone. A former field bank which passes close by survives as a clearer feature than the bank of the circle. ME136B (N circle) The circle is almost invisible but probably one stone survives in the field wall which clips it on the E. Excavations in 1919 revealed evidence of prehistoric burial and burning, and sherds of Beaker pottery were discovered. The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of prehistoric ritual and burial practices. It retains significant archaeological potential, with a strong probability of the presence of associated archaeological features and deposits. The circles also form part of an important group of prehistoric monuments which follow an ancient trackway around the western fringe of the uplands in this part of Gwynedd. The scheduled area comprises the remains described and areas around them within which related evidence may be expected to survive.