BR310

Maes Clythan Wood cairn  

03/02/2006  

Designated  

Powys  

Llanfihangel Cwmdu with Bwlch and Cathedine  

316134  

224420  

Religious, Ritual and Funerary  

Round Cairn  

Prehistoric  

The following provides a general description of the Scheduled Ancient Monument. The monument comprises the remains of a burial cairn, probably dating to the Bronze Age (c.2300 BC - 800 BC) and situated in open moorland on the gentle S-facing slopes above Cefn Moel. The stone-built cairn is roughly circular on plan and measures about 7.5m in diameter and up to 0.5m in height. The cairn is substantially intact, although there is a large central hollow, presumably the result of antiquarian investigation or robbing. A shelter with drystone walling has been constructed within this hollow, although upright slabs (perhaps remaining from an original cist) are visible at the base of the shelter on its NE and SE sides. The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of prehistoric burial and ritual practices. The well-preserved 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 or ritual deposits and environmental and structural evidence. The scheduled area comprises the remains described and an area around them within which related evidence may be expected to survive. It is circular and measures 18m in diameter.