GM563

Morlais Hill ring cairn  

01/12/2003  

Designated  

Merthyr Tydfil  

Pant  

305255  

209643  

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, probably dating to the Bronze Age (c.2300 BC - 800 BC). It is situated on a ridge between two fairways on Morlais Hill Golf Course. The ring cairn is circular on plan and measures 26m in diameter within a grass-covered earthen bank spread to 2.5m in thickness and up to 0.4m in height. There are several stones visible within the bank material and the internal surface of the monument is uneven. There is a gap in the south-south-east side of the ring bank, measuring about 3m in breadth. An unusual subrectangular spur of earth and stone extends about 9m from the north side of the ring bank and measures about 4m in thickness. This stony protrusion is probably the result of clearance. The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of prehistoric burial and ritual. 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 and ritual deposits and environmental and structural evidence. The area scheduled comprises the remains described and an area around them within which related evidence may be expected to survive.