Latest Miscellany

Y Garnedd means ‘The Cairn’ in Welsh... which is perhaps not that surprising since this c1,811ft peak, rising above Llyn Morwynion (Lake of The Maidens), is crowned by a massive Bronze Age monument of the ‘ring cairn’ variety.

Suffice to say, the mountain has ‘form’ since Llyn Morwynion, while not specifically namechecked, nevertheless appears to feature in The Mabinogion... since we learn Blodeuedd, upon hearing that the wizard Gwydion was hot in pursuit:

“...took her maidens with her and made for a court that was on the mountains, and over Cynfal river they made for a court that was on the mountain. But through fear they could not proceed save with their faces looking backwards. And then, never a thing knew they before they fell into the lake, and were all drowned save she alone..”

A visit to the ancient stone pile is recommended (a surfeit of quarry workings notwithstanding) since there are some fantastic views to be had from the summit. Hey, the archaeology’s pretty impressive, too, although I did wonder whether – having noted over the years how a number of Welsh summit cairns incorporate pre-existing crags within the structure – this was actually originally intended as a ring cairn? A crafty attempt to save effort, or symbolic incorporation of the living rock into the monument? Ermm. Let’s go with the latter, eh? Having said that, the professionals are pretty sure, Coflein reckoning:

A ring cairn located around the summit of Y Garnedd...It has a diameter of 12m, mainly consisting of turf-covered stonework 0.2 – 0.3m high, with a pronounced kerb in places. It is best preserved on the NE and NW sides, the S side partly formed from a natural outcrop. In the centre is a depression, but this appears to have been scooped out in modern times. There is an arc-shaped pile of stones on its E side, and slabs to the W which may be natural.....” [W B Horton, H & H, 10/01/2014].

Y Garnedd is most easily approached via a track above Llyn Dubach beside the B4407 from Ysbyty Ifan.

The Migneint, an extensive area of peat blanket bog overlooked by the Arenig mountains of Gwynedd, is not the place for those seeking easy walking... or trendy ‘outdoor experiences’... to venture. ‘Hostile’ or ‘bleak’ might be appropriate adjectives, particularly when the cloud base is down and the rain just won’t relent.

However, don the boots when the weather is a touch more salubrious and the curious traveller may experience a touch of that special wilderness vibe without too much effort. Perfect for the short day, or when the body just won’t respond. It happens, right? Furthermore, there are a number of hidden highlights to discover here, far from the maddening crowds, so to speak: Llyn Conwy, source of the river high above Cwm Penmachno; the massive prehistoric ring cairn crowning Y Garnedd, keeping watch over Llyn Morwynion; equally massive cairns surmounting the sentinel peaks of Arenig Fach and Arenig Fawr; and arguably the most obscure of all – in my opinion – a lovely little Bronze Age cairn located above the Nant yr Olchfa, upon the flanks of Carnedd Iago at SH7919140367.

Although not that far from the B4391 – and within sight of the usual moronic petrol head bikers and wannabee rally clowns racing up and down during Easter Bank Holiday – the location is one to savour for such limited expenditure of effort. Hey, the monument even displays a hint of a former internal cist. Should you lack a GPS (hopefully you do and still engage in traditional fieldcraft rather than have some bloody satellite tell you where you are – or not as the case may be) the cairn is not easy to find. Indeed, I came away bemused the first time of asking. However, persevere since an audience is worth the effort.

Coflein has this to say:

“A small funerary cairn found emerging from the peat. The exposed circular stone structure measures 4.5m in diameter....There is no obvious external kerb and the exposed area is up to 0.4m high. There is one possible recumbent side slab for a cist surviving in the northern half of the cairn. The cairn is located on a flat spur of land raised above the confluence of two streams”. [P.J.Schofield, OANorth, 29th July 2008]

Snowdonia possesses more than its fair share of prehistoric burial cairns set high upon wind and rain-lashed mountain tops. Hey, sometimes they are even bathed in sunshine. It happens. Now and again.

However, fellow Citizens Cairn should note that some pretty fine examples can be found at a lower level, too. Perfect for those days when the poor old limbs simply cannot take any more. Particularly at my age. Or, perhaps, when the clouds have descended to subsume the landscape in clammy, grey vapour... when one would need to be a certifiable nutter to venture into the gloom, even clutching a compass and good intentions.

Now a reference to one such monument can be discerned upon the current 1:25k OS map (not the 1:50k version, mind) at SH68383416 – that is, a little to the southwest(ish) of Llyn Trawsfynydd, beneath the seriously ‘rough’ peaks of the northern Rhinogydd. Note that the latter are most certainly NOT an environment to be caught within hill fog.

Seeking it out is well worth the effort, since not only is the cairn set upon a wild, uncompromising hillside boasting great views and a special upland vibe... it also possesses the remains of a cist within its centre. So no doubt about the prehistoric provenance of this is one, then? Too right. Furthermore, the remains of what seemed to me a possible multi-phase settlement at roadside might be inferred as the former home of the VIP once interred here? Now there’s a thought.

Details of the two cairns to the SW and south of the summit, excerpts from the Cornwall & Scilly HER:

SW cairn (SW 4191 3545)

WC Borlase recorded two cairns at Watch Croft. The south west barrow, 8.8m in diameter and enclosed by a ring of twenty stones set on edge, was excavated by him in 1863. Inside he found a cist containing an urn. On top of a cist, below its covering stone he found several Roman coins. The OS surveyed the cairn at 1:2500 in 1960. It is 1.7m high and 13.0m in diameter, and consists of a circular dry stone wall of large granite blocks with loose granite rubble piled within and around it. The top is slightly inclined towards the centre and a large outcropping rock is built into the south side of the wall. The cairn is very spread and mutilated by two excavations within the walling. The natural rock and shallow depression mentioned by Borlase is just inside the north circumference of the wall. The depression may be natural as two other large rocks near the cairn here have well formed rock basins. No trace remains of the cist which Borlase discovered.

Southern cairn (SW 4205 3524)

Pool in 1960 noted a barrow at Trevean. The OS who surveyed the remains at 1:2500 in 1961 record a cairn with a maximum height of 1.2m. The perimeter is retained by a drystone wall of large stones with a pronounced inward batter. The wall is mostly of large stones on edge but in places there are two courses visible. An excavation trench has been driven through the mound from east to west with a large circular hollow a little east of the centre. Spoil from this excavation is scattered on the outside of the cairn, particularly to the north east. Russell in 1971 lists the extant remains of a mound with retaining wall.

A linear group of three barrows on Bosvenning Common. Extracts from the Cornwall & Scilly HER, WNW-ESE:

WNW barrow (SW 4138 3130)

The site was partially excavated by WC Borlase in 1862. Extant remains comprise an overgrown earth and granite mound, overgrown with heather and bracken, standing 1.4m high, into which an excavation pit, 0.8m deep was dug, presumably by Borlase, in 1862. Part of a cist was found at the bottom of the pit. No further details. The monument is included in the Schedule. The barrow is visible on aerial photographs as a low earth and stone mound and was plotted as part of the NMP.

Central barrow (SW 4141 3129)

It is unclear whether the site was excavated by WC Borlase though others in this group clearly were. Surveyed by the OS in 1961 who remark on its slightly different constructional make up from neighbouring sites 16171.2 and 16171.1. A fact recorded by Russell who used it as a ring of stones around a natural boulder. Extant remains comprise an overgrown mound of stone and granite rubble 12m in diameter and 0.8m high. A pit dug south of the centre of the site, 0.6m deep, dismissed as a cist, indicates disturbance and two large stones visible on the mound’s surface on its south-west side may be part of a kerb. The monument is included in the Schedule. The barrow is visible on aerial photographs as a low earth and stone mound and was plotted as part of the NMP.

ESE barrow (SW 4143 3127)

The site was excavated by WC Borlase in 1862 which accounts for its mutilated condition. Extant remains comprise an overgrown earth and granite mound 1.4m high and 10m in diameter. A single granite stone set on edge in situ is probably the remains of a cist. The OS in 1961 noted more recent displacement of stone though the CAU survey adds no further details. The monument is included in the Schedule. The barrow is visible on aerial photographs as a low earth and stone mound and was plotted as part of the NMP.

Cairnharrow is c. 3 miles E of Creetown. Creetown Summit Cairn is easily visited via Cambret Hill. Take the R turn 100 yards before the Gem Rock Museum in Creetown signposted for Glenquicken Farm Trout Fishery. After c. 2.5 miles there is a lay-by opposite Glenquicken Stone Circle on the R side. Continue E for c. 1.1 miles to the access track to Cambret Hill mast. There is a lay-by at NX 52645 57987 0.5 miles up the track, just below the Cambret Hill mast. I have plotted a 1.25 mile route S to Cairnharrow Summit Cairn via 3 Cairns, 1 Stone Circle, 1 Cup and Ring Marked Stone and 1 Modern Worked Stone on explore.osmaps.com/route/12211781/cambret-hill-and-cairharrow-cairns?lat=54.887958&lon=-4.308434&zoom=13.2069&overlays=&style=Standard&type=2d.

For a photograph of the tomb in its original environment, click this: apps.communities-ni.gov.uk/NISMR-public/Details.aspx?MonID=13085
There is an extensive excavation report here too.

Directions: Take the Three Lochs turn in the centre of Glenluce heading N. Stay on this road for c. 2.5 miles to reach a lay-by at NX 21619 60922. Head W into the field opposite for c. 50 yards. Turn left following the rough farm track for c. 200 yards to a gate. Benlaight South Cairn is c. 300 yards W of the gateway. Retrace your steps along the margin of the field go through a gate onto moorland. Walk up a steep slope on a ENE bearing for c. 250 yards to NX 21190 61119 to reach Benlaight North Cairn.

My route to Benlaight Cairns is viewable on the following link: explore.osmaps.com/route/11741000/benlaight-cairns?lat=54.911435&lon=-4.790394&zoom=15.7231&overlays=&style=Aerial&type=2d

Directions: Take the Three Lochs turn in the centre of Glenluce heading N. Stay on this road for c. 2.5 miles to reach a lay-by at NX 21619 60922. Head W into the field opposite for c. 50 yards. Turn left following the rough farm track for c. 200 yards to a gate. Benlaight South Cairn is c. 300 yards W of the gateway.

My route to Benlaight Cairns is viewable on the following link: explore.osmaps.com/route/11741000/benlaight-cairns?lat=54.911435&lon=-4.790394&zoom=15.7231&overlays=&style=Aerial&type=2d

Directions: Take the minor road for Anwoth off the A75 c. 0.5 miles W of the Cardoness Castle Gatehouse of Fleet junction with the A75. Stay on this narrow road for c. 0.6 mile passing by the current Anwoth Church to reach the ruins of Anwoth Old Kirk. A path heads E from the car park S of the graveyard. Follow the path across a field to the edge of the wood. Rutherford’s Well is visible c. 40 yards N of here.

Set overlooking the massive steelworks of Port Talbot, looming a couple of miles to the west, the coastal height of Mynydd Brombil is crowned by a pair of ‘tumuli’ at Ergyd Isaf. Both burial cairns are reasonably well preserved – the southwestern monument by far the larger – and reached by a steep, yet interesting climb from the village of Goytre within Cwm Dyffryn to the north.

Things are not as they should be, however, the western environs of Mynydd Brombill having been chosen as the site of a ‘wind farm’ whose owners, far from being receptive to those within the community wishing to better understand their heritage (as might perhaps have been expected from such a ‘progressive industry?’), instead, vehemently threaten ‘prosecution’ upon any antiquarian wishing to view the primary cairn up close by venturing into its field via the gate. Now while irresponsible trespass (a ‘civil wrongdoing’) clearly needs to be stopped for the good of everyone, the fact that – as far as I’m aware – the act of erecting of a fence upon (and thus damaging) a scheduled ancient monument is a CRIMINAL offence would appear to have escaped the notice of otherwise very observant landowners? Not to mention the authorities. But there you are. For the record, I settled for a view from behind the fence.....

Despite these shortcomings, there is still much to celebrate at Ergyd Isaf, the assumed final resting place of a Bronze Age VIP – hey, a precursor to local greats Anthony Hopkins or Richard Burton perhaps? One can only hope a more inclusive attitude will one day be considered for these prehistoric treasures in order to restore them to their former prominence within the local landscape. Not too late to make amends, people.

This large, powerful hillfort lies just a mile to the southwest of the wondrous Black Cliff promontory fort... but couldn’t really be any more different in terms of siting or ground plan. Hence, combining visits made a lot of sense upon a somewhat inclement February day. Well, while in the area it’d be rude not to, right?

Furthermore, unlike the much smaller enclosure, access is pretty straightforward, a public footpath sign indicating the way at the junction with the road approaching Penterry Farm etc (where, incidentally, I was able to park up with undue fuss). Hey, if in doubt, look for the transmitter antennae which now also crown the hilltop – one assumes not an original Iron Age feature.....

Understanding the ground plan of Gaer Hill is not so simple should you happen to lack a 1:25K OS map. However, in summary, a powerful inner enclosure is nowadays supplemented by significant surviving outer ramparts to south and east, the latter (together with the eastern flank of the inner) lying within the trees and quite substantial in form. One presumes these outer defences – once upon a time, anyway – formed a continuous circuit?

Also of note is a rather fine panorama looking across Chepstow racecourse to the mouth of the Severn Estuary, whereby the spellbound traveller can appreciate a grandstand view of journey’s end for two of Pumlumon’s iconic watercourses: Hafren and Gwy. Pumlumon should really need no introduction.

Subsumed within trees at the northern apex of Black Cliff, overlooking the sinuous River Wye (Afon Gwy) to the approx north of Chepstow – not that I could see the river, but there you are – this is a fine example of an inland ‘promontory fort’, rendered all the more special by being ‘hidden in plain sight’... always the most effective camouflage, I find.

Such is the (sublime) topography here that the original inhabitants were able to concentrate the vast majority of their effort upon erecting a substantial ‘cross bank’ isolating the neck of the promontory to the southwest. Little more, save (apparently) some scarping of the natural slopes, was required elsewhere to create a first-class fortified enclosure. And to recall those Victorian mugs once tried to con society into believing our ancestors were ‘rude savages’ dragged kicking and screaming to civilisation by them damn Romans. Yeah, right. Not buying that.

I approached starting from an unclassified public track (those green dots upon the OS 1:25K map) veering off from the Penterry Farm access road, crossing open fields to ascend from the north-east. It was well worth the effort. Yeah, Chepstow may be justly famous for William FitzOsbern’s magnificent Norman castle – or the Racecourse, should one happen to be a mug punter with a thing for the gee-gees – but clearly, there is much more of interest for the more discerning Citizens Cairn in the immediate locale... most obviously at Gaer Hill, just a mile to the southwest.

Located toward the south-west of Graig Fawr – an elongated, grassy ridge rising to the approx north-east of Pontardulais – I found this Neolithic Chambered Tomb to be much more substantial than anticipated. Yeah, as South Walian prehistoric monuments go, this one retains a significant volume of ‘chamber’... with two groups of orthostats (uprights) still visible within the low residue of cairn material.

Sadly, it would appear local morons think the site fair game for the dumping of broken glass, not an uncommon occurrence in South Wales in my experience. I hereby call upon the decent citizens of Y Bont to sort out this cancer within their midst. Let’s not be judged by the very dregs of our society, eh?

Nevertheless, such was the vibe here – within the swirling hill fog and precipitation – that even such mindless, pointless desecration did not detract too much from the visit. Indeed, by extending the walk to the summit of Graig Fawr the more perceptive, curious traveller will discern the remains of an Iron Age enclosure... a hillfort, no less. There are other prehistoric cairns and such to search out, too. Happy days.

Directions: Take the New Luce turn off the A75 at the E End of Castle Kennedy. After c. 5.5 miles you reach the 30 mph speed limit on the NW edge of New Luce. Continue straight on the minor road , avoiding New Luce, for c. 2.5 miles to reach a lay-by on the left at NX 1502 6755. The access road to Cairnerzean Farm is c. 0.25 miles further N. The Cairnerzean Farm Cairns lie c. 75 yards S of here up a grassy slope.

Directions: Take the New Luce turn off the A75 at the E End of Castle Kennedy. After c. 5.5 miles you reach the 30 mph speed limit on the NW edge of New Luce. Continue straight on the minor road , avoiding New Luce, for c. 2.5 miles to reach a lay-by on the left at NX 1502 6755. The access road to Cairnerzean Farm is c. 0.25 miles further N. The Cairnerzean Farm Cairns lie c. 75 yards S of here up a grassy slope.

Although my suspicions were aroused following the subsequent identification of what I’d taken to be unrecorded ‘round barrows’ upon Egsair Rhiwlan (immediately to the SE) as the impact residue of shells from a former WW1 artillery range... it would appear the monument to be found here is indeed the real deal. Sweet.

Coflein has this to say:

“A circular, grassy mound, 7m in diameter and 0.6m high. It has a thin peat cover but slight erosion shows that the main body of the mound is composed of earth and stone. It is located on a flat, broad hill summit, overlooking the Elan valley. When visited in June 2009 the area was used for rough grazing and vegetation cover was grass. [J.J. Hall, Trysor, 9/9/2009]”

If obscure hangs away from the tourist bustle of Cwmdeuddwr are your thing, they don’t come much better for such limited effort than this little round barrow.

A bit of an enigma, this: old maps clearly show some ‘structure’ – presumably a cairn – standing beside the old Monks’ Trod, a byway linking the heart of Elenydd with Ffair-Rhos and Strata Florida to the west. However..... deciding to go and have a look upon a very inclement 23/7/2020 I found... well, very little, to be fair. The barest hint of a stone pile amongst the carnage caused by lazy muppets in their shiny new 4x4s engaged in ‘1mph off-road experiences’. Such thrills! Yeah, whatever.

Nevertheless, well worth the walk from Pont ar Elan across the summit plateau of Esgair Rhiwlan – or, if you prefer, follow the lower level green track. Incidentally, the ‘mounds’ I discovered upon Esgair Rhiwlan are apparently shell impact residue from a WW1 artillery range once located here! Just so you know.

Coflein has this to say:

“Carn Ricet is a possible prehistoric cairn that is now denuded, turf-covered, and hard to define. It is disturbed by a trackway... and the small amount of stone visible on the surface would appear to be the remains of a more recent cairn marking the boundary of a sheepwalk and possibly the line of a drovers’ road. [J.J. Hall, Trysor, 18/1/2010]”

Abridged description from the Exmoor HER:

The main enclosure is bounded by a rampart and outer ditch, but because it is situated on a west to east slope the ditch disappears and the rampart degenerates into little more than an outer scarp on the downhill (eastern) side. No continuation of the southern end of the western outwork can be traced, but the northern end turns and is linked by a scarp to the main enclosure.

There are traces of stone building foundations in the northeast part of the inner enclosure where a track enters. Whybrow mentions that a good deal of stone is evident in the structure at and near the northeast entrance, as well as at one or two other points, and it is possible the rampart was originally stone revetted.

The site lies at 240 metres above Ordnance Datum on a spur running roughly northwest to southeast immediately northwest of Selworthy village. Situated on the tip of a spur, with a steep drop on two sides, but a gentler approach to the southwest. The enclosure is subrectangular in plan with slightly curving sides and rounded corners, having an internal area of 0.21 hectares enclosed by univallate earthworks. The defences are greatest on the upper sides, with a bank up to 2 metres high and outer ditch up to 2 metres deep, forming an external face 1.7 metres high. On the lower sides use is made of the natural slope which has been scarped to form a bank 0.2 metres high above a drop of 1.8 metres, with a slight outer terrace. The earthworks have a steep, well preserved profile. The most likely original entrance is in the centre of the northeastern side where there is a disturbed area consisting of a gap in the rampart and a mound of stone extending out from the interior of the enclosure, truncating the ditch which turns out along it. This may represent a tumbled outturned entrance or collapsed gatehouse. Uphill from this there is a counterscarp bank outside the ditch. The present entrance on the southwest appears to have been created by a modern trackway over the ramparts. Uphill, 32 metres above the enclosure, is a crossridge work with two arms meeting at a shallow point on the crest of the ridge. The northeast arm, 45 metres long, runs parallel to the top side of the enclosure, and the second arm runs south from this for 45 metres. It is formed of a bank approximately 2 metres high and an external ditch approximately 2 metres deep, of similar proportions to the upper side of the enclosure, forming an external face 2.5 metres high. On the north-east this work runs to the edge of the spur and turns briefly towards the enclosure as a scarp and terrace. A length of natural scarp completes the gap between the two. On the south, however, the work ends well short of the edge of the hill, suggesting that approach was intended from this direction. There is a gap through the crosswork immediately south of the apex, consisting of a shallowing of the ditch and lowering of the bank, but this appears to be modern. The crosswork may have defined an outer enclosure, but a more likely purpose was to provide better visibility both from and of the site along the uphill approach. Such crossworks covering the otherwise blind approach to a defended site are a feature of several sites in the region. The outer edge of the cross-work ditch has been reused as the course of a later field enclosure bank, and it has been faced with drystone walling. Redundant field banks are present around the site and date from the post-medieval or early modern period.

“two in number: one, an upright pointed stone, 5ft by 2ft by 3ft 6in high; ans the other lying 3ft 6in to the southwest, 7ft 6in by 5ft by 2ft 6in thick. The latter has fifteen cups, varying from 2 to 3in in diameter; one with a single ring carved on the sloping face at the south end of the stone. It lies horizontally and has two hollows, worn at the ends where the cups are, by the toes of persons climbing onto the top. The ground under this stone has been partly removed and it appears to rest on two others; but the whole appears to be natural and not a cromlech or rocking stone.”

W. McNicoll

About 600m E of the present investigations at
Pitkerro is the upstanding prehistoric mound of Cairn
Greg on the Linlathen estate, excavated in the 19th
century and found to be of Bronze Age date but reused in the Pictish period (Stuart 1866). A Pictish Class

1 symbol stone was found at Cairn Greg (Stuart 1866,
101) but is now lost.

Ray Cachart and Derek Hall

However

Cairn Greg was excavated in 1834. The central cist rested on ground level and neasured 4’10” x 2’9” x 2’10” deep, and the joints were luted with clay. The large capstone, 7’ x 4’6”, was separated from an upper capstone by a layer of soil 1’ thick. In the cist were a rivetted dagger (present whereabouts unknown), and a beaker – type S4 – now in Dundee Museum. A fragment of a Pictish symbol stone is said to have been found between the capstones, and removed to Linlathen House.

J Stuart 1867; A S Henshall 1968; D L Clarke 1970.

But

Herbert Coutts’ ‘Ancient Monuments of Tayside‘

The stone was displayed in the grounds of Linlathen House at least until the 1950s. The house was abandoned shortly after that, largely due to damage caused by billeted troops during the war.. The central part of the house itself was demolished in 1958 and both wings followed in the 1980s. There is now a nursing home on the site. Most of the rubble was buried in a quarry to the north.

Now I must, first off, confess as to having been certain I’d been here – to this VERY substantial upland Bronze Age cairn – before... venturing south from Trembyd in thick hill fog some years earlier. Haha, yeah. Needless to say, the unexpected sight of a truly massive cairn upon the northern horizon as I head for Garth this time around – where I reckoned no cairn should be – was sufficient cause for re-appraisal. Conclusion: map reading muppetry resulting in a vapour-shrouded audience with Carn-y-Geifr (not Carn Wen) back in the day. Ahem.

To be fair Carn Wen is unmistakable... once one knows what it looks like, that is. A Bronze Age behemoth some 78ft in diameter, albeit a little defaced by a couple of small modern ‘marker’ cairns and a curious ‘shelter’, set upon a high plateau of billowing grass. As is the case with most of Wales’ other ‘White Cairns’ I have had the pleasure of visiting, this example is distinctly more of a ‘battleship grey’ hue. But none the worse for that, it has to be said.

All is quiet, save the equestrian – and rather striking – farmer’s wife met earlier in the day thundering past upon her mount. A good place to be and take in the vast skies for a while. Best not attempt it in mist though... just saying. Unless you can actually read a compass.

Coflein records:

“A cairn, 23.8m in diameter and 0.8m high, having three projecting stone platforms about its E perimeter. Two small recent cairns and a double shelter have taken their place upon the cairn.” [J.Wiles 23.04.02]

The Cwmdeuddwr Hills of Y Elenydd, extending westwards from the bustling Welsh market town of Rhayader, are probably best known for harbouring the great Elan Valley reservoirs. Few, save the occasional isolated farmer, live here nowadays. However, those intrepid souls who choose to don the boots and head into that forbiddingly wet landscape on foot will discover abundant traces of those who came before: the pioneering prehistoric farmers who first set down permanent roots in the wake of the Mesolithic hunter-gatherer wanderers. Perhaps the most tangible of these reminders are the great burial cairns they erected upon the hilltops.

One such monument – there are many other examples in the extended locale, including some ‘whoppers’ – can be found at SN98736029 upon Garth, an eastern promontory of Drum Ddu. OK, by all accounts what remains constitutes but the substantial, robbed footprint of what must have been a pretty hefty, large-diameter cairn in its day... however, it is more than enough in the circumstances, given the fabulous location overlooking the River Wye (Afon Gwy) flowing from Pumlumon.

Coflein lists the dimensions as: “..13m by 10.7m and 0.3m high.” [J.Wiles 23.04.02]

Note that Coflein lists another cairn some way to the west at SN9854060330 which didn’t really grab my attention, to be fair. Probably my mistake.

This small Bronze Age cairn cemetery may well be bypassed – unnoticed – by those (such as they are) heading for the wild delights of Drum Ddu or Garth... and their far more conspicuous prehistoric monuments.... from the south. Yeah, one needed to check the map – and remove a splodge of baked bean (I believe) obscuring the relevant detail – before being sure of the location.

Nonetheless, the three(?) cairns are discernible among the ubiquitous industrial-strength upland grass and, furthermore, the sweeping vista towards South Wales is one to behold before moving on to check out the massive stone piles even I couldn’t miss.

Coflein reckons:

“Two probable and one possible cairn: I – at SN98095991 [is] c.3.7m in diameter and 0.3m high, with a slight central depression; II – at SN98125993, 4.1m in diameter and 0.45m high, with a central depression; III – at SN98135995, c.1.8m in diameter and 0.3m high. It is thought unlikely that these are clearance cairns and the preferred interpretation is that of a cairn cemetery.”
[J.Wiles 24.04.02]