MM343

Cwm Bwchel round cairn  

02/04/2009  

Designated  

Monmouthshire  

Crucorney  

327587  

227220  

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 rounded terrace on the NE facing slopes of Bal-Mawr. The stone-built cairn is circular on plan and measures about 15.5m in diameter and up to 1.4m in height. Although it has been disturbed in the past - the bulk of the cairn has been cleared to one side to reveal a well-preserved central cist - the base of the cairn remains intact and undisturbed. The cist measures 2m from ENE to WSW by 0.4m transversely and is 0.65m in depth. 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 burial or ritual deposits. The area scheduled comprises the remains described and an area around them within which related evidence may be expected to survive. It is circular and measures 30m in diameter.