BR291

Pen Tir Ring Cairn and Ritual Platform  

23/07/2002  

Designated  

Powys  

Llanfihangel Cwmdu with Bwlch and Cathedine  

317080  

225760  

Religious, Ritual and Funerary  

Ring Cairn  

Prehistoric  

The following provides a general description of the Scheduled Ancient Monument. The monument comprises the remains of a ring cairn of earth and stone, which probably dates to the Bronze Age (c. 2300 - 800 BC). It is visible as a circular bank of turf covered stones some 8.5m in diameter and 0.5m high. The ring cairn is conjoined to the south-west by a roughly semi-circular rubble platform, measuring 4m wide and 0.5m high. The site is marked, and partially overlain, by a modern walkers' cairn some 3m in diameter and 1.2m high. 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. It is circular and measures 16m in diameter, centred on the walkers cairn.