CM287

Two Burnt Mounds 350m W of Cwrtbrynbeirdd  

15/07/1996  

Designated  

Carmarthenshire  

Cyngor Bro Dyffryn Cennen  

266679  

218168  

Domestic  

Burnt Mound  

Prehistoric  

The following provides a general description of the Scheduled Ancient Monument. The monument consists of the remains of a pair of 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 bisected by a tiny stream. the eastern mound measures 9.5m by 10m and stands up to 1.5m high and the western mound 8m by 9m but only 0.2m high. Both have some gorse and tree cover and produce burnt stone and charcoal when augered. 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.