BR368

Esgair Irfon round cairn  

09/03/2007  

Designated  

Powys  

Llanwrtyd Wells  

284644  

254637  

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 a gently sloping and undulating plateau, set back from the leading SE-facing edge of Craig Irfon. The grass covered stone-built cairn is circular on plan and measures about 4.5m in diameter and up to 0.3m in height. It would be almost indistinguishable from surrounding outcrops were it not for the well preserved and exposed central cist. This stone built cist measures 0.8m from N to S by 0.5m transversely and about 0.4m in depth. Although it has been disturbed in the past - the cist has been opened and emptied - the majority of the cairn appears to remain intact. The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of prehistoric burial and ritual practices. 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 structural evidence and intact associated deposits. 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 25m in diameter.