CD042

Cairn Circle 400m SW of Lle'r Neuaddau  

 

Designated  

Ceredigion  

Blaenrheidol  

275549  

284656  

Religious, Ritual and Funerary  

Cairn Circle  

Prehistoric  

The following provides a general description of the Scheduled Ancient Monument. The monument comprises the remains of a prehistoric cairn circle, probably dating to the Bronze Age (c. 2300 - 800 BC). The feature consists of a circle of 19 earth-fast stones, measuring c. 7m east to west by c. 6.5m. Six of the stones are from 0.6 to 0.9m in length and up to 0.6m in height, but the others average 0.2m in height and are comparatively small boulders. There are socket holes of two missing stones on the north-west and south-east. A rectangular depression on the south-west side is 1.6m by 1.3m in size, and 0.35m deep. It is stone-lined at the south-east and may be the remains of a cist. The complete absence of a mound, or of any loose stone, suggests that the circle was never part of any larger structure. The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of prehistoric burial and ritual practices. The monument is an important relic of a prehistoric funerary and ritual landscape. It retains significant archaeological potential, with a strong probability of the presence of both intact burial or ritual deposits, together with structural evidence. Cairn circles may be part of a larger cluster of monuments and their importance can further enhanced by their group value. The scheduled area comprises the remains described and areas around them within which related evidence may be expected to survive.