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Cairn(s)
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The 2,362ft top of Rhinog Fawr is crowned by a series of cairns, the western of which (bearing the OS trig station) appears - to these eyes - to represent a classic summit funerary monument constructed over irregular natural outcropping... in the manner of, say, Y Carneddau's Foel Grach. Sadly, the cairn has been much vandalised by the gouging out of 'idiot shelters' by, well, idiots. Nevertheless, the prehistoric ancestry would appear pretty obvious, given the circumstances. The providence of the cairn standing to the east is less clear; however, on balance, the footprint is not consistent with what I would expect of a modern marker cairn. The small cairn at the eastern end of the plateau would appear a modern marker.
The Gwynedd Archaeological Trust (GAT PRN 5506) has this to say:
"A cairn about 10m diameter with an arc of radially set stones on the NE, stands on the W end of the summit plateau of Rhinog Fawr. The modern trig point is set on the centre of the cairn.
Enhanced natural outcrop on summit of Rhinog Fawr - utilises exposed N-S oriented strata, infilling gaps and fissures, which appear as radial, edge-set slabs at locations NE and SW. Possible kerb/original structure of cairn survives best however on west and east sides where mixed constructional techniques are evident. The original form of the cairn is presumed to have been round but with a bias to oval on a N - S axis. The centre of the cairn is made up of exposed outcrop and is surmounted by a modern OS trig pillar. There are 3 modern walker's shelters incorporated into the circumference. There are numerous smaller cairns scattered across the summit plateau on the north-east side. All appear to be modern in their present form (Smith 2001)."
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Posted by GLADMAN
15th November 2022ce
Edited 15th November 2022ce
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