GM233

Crug yr Afan Round Cairn  

 

Designated  

Rhondda Cynon Taff  

Treorchy  

292040  

195447  

Religious, Ritual and Funerary  

Round Cairn  

Prehistoric  

The following provides a general description of the Scheduled Ancient Monument. The monument comprises the remains of a burial cairn, probably dating to the Bronze Age (c. 2300 - 800 BC). It is situated on open moorland on top of the ridge. The cairn is turf covered and measures 21m in diameter by 3m in height. It has a flat top and on the north side is a disturbance hollow measuring c. 3m by 1.5m deep which is filled with stones, a concrete boulder and an iron pipe. On the south side of this hollow part of the interior, the mound is exposed showing a packing of stones. The cairn was excavated in 1902 and a cist was found in the sub-soil beneath the mound. 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 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.