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Image of Garth (Llanwrthwl) (Cairn(s)) by GLADMAN

This is the main cairn... and deceptively substantial it is, too

Image credit: Robert Gladstone

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Garth is the eastern promontory of Drum Ddu, the featured cairn just one of a series of mighty upland monuments gracing the surrounding area.

Miscellaneous

Garth (Llanwrthwl)
Cairn(s)

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.

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