Scheduled Monuments- Full Report
Summary Description of a Scheduled Monument
Reference Number
MG323
Name
Cwmbiga long cairn
Date of Designation
09/08/2006
Status
Designated
Location
Unitary Authority
Powys
Community
Llanidloes Without
Easting
286362
Northing
289023
Broad Class
Religious, Ritual and Funerary
Site Type
Long Cairn
Period
Prehistoric
Description
Summary Description and Reason for Designation
The following provides a general description of the Scheduled Ancient Monument.
The monument comprises the remains of a probable long cairn, dating from the Neolithic period (c. 4,400 BC - 2,900 BC) and situated upon a wide, raised terrace in the centre of a sheltered valley on the east side of the Plynlimon uplands. Cwmbiga long cairn measures overall 17.5m long west-north-west by east-south-east. It is wedge-shaped, and measures 10.5m wide at its south-east end where it is 1m high, and 6m wide at its north-west end where it is 0.75m high. There are no obvious traces of ditching around the cairn. Although the cairn has been disturbed in the past, with two large open trenches visible (presumably the result of antiquarian investigation), the majority of the cairn appears substantially intact.
The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of prehistoric burial and ritual practices. The well-preserved monument is an important relic of a prehistoric funerary and ritual landscape and retains significant archaeological potential, with a strong probability of the presence of both intact burial or ritual deposits and structural evidence. The surrounding ground is boggy, suggesting that the potential for associated paleoenvironmental evidence is great.
The area scheduled comprises the remains described and an area around them within which related evidence may be expected to survive. It is circular and measures 30m in diameter.