Scheduled Monuments- Full Report
Summary Description of a Scheduled Monument
Reference Number
ME255
Name
Cairn 300m SE of Bryn Cau
Date of Designation
22/08/2006
Status
Designated
Location
Unitary Authority
Gwynedd
Community
Llanuwchllyn
Easting
281953
Northing
333050
Broad Class
Religious, Ritual and Funerary
Site Type
Round Cairn
Period
Prehistoric
Description
Summary Description and Reason for Designation
The following provides a general description of the Scheduled Monument.
The monument comprises the remains of a small and undisturbed cairn, probably dating to the Bronze Age (c. 2300 BC - 800 BC). It is situated within enclosed moorland on a saddle between two local promontories on a NW-SE aligned ridge. The stone built cairn is circular in shape on plan and measures c. 4.2m in diameter. It is shallow in profile and measures c. 0.65m tall.
The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of prehistoric burial and ritual. The 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 cairn is c. 300m NE of Scheduled Monument No. ME197, a prehistoric hut circle settlement. The latter may be associated with the cairn. The cairn lies on peat, which may contain palaeo-environmental and dating evidence.
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 10m in diameter.