CD057

Two Cairns on Mynydd Bach  

 

Designated  

Ceredigion  

Lledrod  

261748  

267673  

Religious, Ritual and Funerary  

Round Cairn  

Prehistoric  

The following provides a general description of the Scheduled Ancient Monument. The monument comprises the remains of two burial cairns, c.180m apart on the summit of Mynydd Bach. They probably date to the Bronze Age (c. 2300 - 800 BC). The northernmost cairn is c.19m in diameter by c.1m high. It is much denuded and with no clear features visible, though there are hints of a cist towards the north of the centre. The southernmost cairn is c.18m in diameter and c.1.6m high, somewhat disturbed by shelter construction. On the north-east are traces of a kerb or ring of standing stones. They stand c.1.2m apart and now project 0.3m from the surface of the rubble and 0.9m from the old ground level. c.3.5m from the north margin is a small cist c.0.9m by 0.7m by c.0.5m deep. A middle Bronze Age cremation burial was found in this cist in c.1936. 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 and retains significant archaeological potential, with a strong probability of the presence of both intact burial or ritual deposits, together with environmental and structural evidence. Cairns may be part of a larger cluster of monuments and their importance can be 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.