GM380

Ring Cairn on Craig Fawr  

08/12/1976  

Designated  

Swansea  

Mawr  

262862  

206636  

Religious, Ritual and Funerary  

Earthwork (unclassified)  

Prehistoric  

The following provides a general description of the Scheduled Ancient Monument. The monument comprises the remains of a ring cairn and larger enclosure of earth and stone, which probably date to the Bronze Age (c. 2300 - 800 BC). It is situated 250m above OD on open moorland. Archaeological Item A - The structure is an almost perfect circle about 52m in diameter overall. The enclosure is formed by two stony banks about 1.5m wide and 0.3m high, separated by a shallow stony depression about 3m wide. The inner edges of the banks are very irregular. Archaeological Item B - Against the southern side of the enclosure [Item A] is a round structure about 12.8m in diameter overall, formed by a bank about 1.8m wide and 0.3m high with an external ditch about 0.9m wide and 0.2m deep. There seems to be no original entrance through this bank. The grass covering the enclosure is much longer than on most of the adjacent moorland. The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of prehistoric burial and ritual practices. The feature is an important relic of a prehistoric funerary and ritual landscape and retains significant archaeological potential. There is a strong probability of the presence of both intact ritual and burial deposits, together with environmental and structural evidence. Ring 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.