CM285

Two Burnt Mounds 600m ESE of Rhyd-y-Ffynnon Farm  

29/10/1996  

Designated  

Carmarthenshire  

Llandybie  

261463  

218533  

Domestic  

Burnt Mound  

Prehistoric  

The following provides a general description of the Scheduled Ancient Monument. The monument consists of the remains of two burnt mounds, probably dating to the Bronze Age (c. 2,300BC - 800BC). A burnt mound is an accumulation of burnt (fire-crazed) stones, ash and charcoal, usually sited next to a river or lake, with hearths and/or some form of trough or basin capable of holding water either within the mound or adjacent to it. The mounds are located at the base of a north-east facing hillslope and divided by a stream and hedge. The south-west mound is partly tree-covered and in wet ground. Measuring 13m by 5.5m and up to 0.7m high, the surface is eroded revealing the dense burnt matrix. 18m to the north-east is a second mound in a pasture field, measuring 15m by 8m and up to 0.5m high. The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of prehistoric ritual and funerary practices. It retains significant archaeological potential, with a strong probability of the presence of associated archaeological features and deposits. The structure itself may be expected to contain archaeological information concerning chronology and environmental evidence. A burnt mound 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.