thesweetcheat

Visited by accident 20 June 2024. I haven’t been able to find out anything about this stone, which is in the walled garden at National Trust Trengwainton, next to a pond. It’s a ringer for the Tregeseal holed stones near St Just, but I have no idea if it’s the real thing or a copy.

Entirely speculative; the summit of Foel Goch is marked with an OS trig pillar, a post-medieval boundary stone and a small pile of stones. However, all three things sit on top of a circular mound, covered in turf and low vegetation. The mound itself is not recorded on the HER or Coflein, but it is clearly artificial. The summit to the west, Garnedd Goch, boasts a definite Bronze Age cairn. To me, the mound on top of Foel Goch is a strong candidate for archaeological evaluation as a possible cairn or round barrow.

The cupmark is on a low earthfast boulder a little to the north of the standing stone. I found it accidentally while looking for the arrow stones, having had no idea it existed.

Gwynedd Archaeological Trust description:

A flat-topped, ground-fast boulder with a single large cup marked on top. Cup mark 8cm dia and 3cm deep, max rather large and flat bottomed compared to most and poss therefore not of same origin and date as most cup marks. The stone is very close to the cross-roads of tracks at the Bwlch and may be associated with the tracks. Boulder c.1.2m long and wide and 0.4m high. (Hopewell and Smith, 2010)

The cairn is located a little to the east of the high point of Garreg Fawr. It’s not shown on the OS map.

Coflein description:

A grass-covered, circular cairn measuring approximately 6m in diameter and 0.3m in height. It is built using tightly-packed, small to medium sub-round stones. It is possible that the cairn had a funerary function, but it could equally be a small hut circle. The AP mapping does show an enclosure and hut circle at this location. However, no evidence of an enclosure could be seen on the ground. 2004.02.12/OAN/PJS

The 1956 Royal Commission record classed this as an arrow stone:

Arrow stone on the W side of track near Ffridd Newydd, on natural boulder 7ft by 3ft 8 inches. On upper surface of stone are groups of parallel cuts from 10-18cm long.

However, Coflein’s 2004 record is not so sure the markings on this stone are even artificial (unlike Arrow Stone II):

A stone on the west side of the track near Ffridd Newydd. It is a natural boulder measuring 2m by 1m and on the upper surface of the stone are groups of parallel cuts from 10-18cm long.

The features on this stone are due to natural geological weathering, often found on basaltic rocks.

GGAT description:

Situated just below local summit. Heap of stones, mainly rounded pieces of quartzite 0.3m across (commoners report that stone in immediate vicinity is slabby, so this must have been brought in). The edges of the monument are unclear; overgrown with grass. c7.2m diameter; c0.2m high GGAT 72 Prehistoric Funerary and Ritual Sites survey 2001.

If approaching from the east, whether or not you’ve attempted to seek out the Pen-y-Dderi cairn in its bog, you’ll pass a modern standing stone memorial to John Dyfnallt Owen, Archdruid of the National Eisteddfod of Wales (1954 – 1956).

GGAT description:

A slight bank of annular form with an uneven surface and an uneven centre; the edges are not always clear. Largely grass-grown with hardly any stone visible, but what little there is consists of quartzite and quartz conglomerate. Post-medieval boundary stone marked GCN at SE side. 14.1m diameter (N-S), 0.4m high GGAT 72 Prehistoric Funerary and Ritual Sites survey 2001.

Coflein descriptions of the three denuded cairns:

Western cairns

Two probable cairns: I – at SN73150878, GGAT Prn00490W, a slightly raised, 7m diameter, stony patch; II – at SN77130877, GGAT Prn02667W, thought to be the robbed and elongated remains of a cairn, 10m by 6m. Both these monuments and Nprn304570 [the eastern cairn] are thought to have been robbed to construct field walls.

Eastern cairn (SN7331008920)

A circular stony patch, 10.7m in diameter, believed to be the base of a robbed cairn.

The GGAT records also indicated a nearby fallen standing stone, just to the SE of the cairns in a field wall at SN7325708775.

It now lies on one long face, with what would have been the base still embedded in the bank which has been built up over it after the stone fell. It consists of a large block of sandstone of rectangular section; the long faces are shouldered, with the width at the top diminishing from 1.35m at what would have been the bottom to 0.6m at what would have been the top. The bedding planes of the sandstone can be seen in the short faces. What is now the lower side of the monument and would have been its NE face is embedded in the ground towards the bank, but the other (previously upper) end is propped clear, since the outer bedding planes on this side have come away, making the monument thinner at this point. A large triangular slab of sandstone also protrudes from the same side of the bank adjacent to the standing stone, but is probably not connected with it. Section 1.35x>0.6m; orig height c3.85m GGAT 72 Prehistoric Funerary and Ritual Sites survey 2001.

(1964/1976) On Cefn Gwrydd, a ridge N of Pontardawe, at about 295m above OD. A rectangular monolith, now on the NE side of a field bank , leaning so heavily to the E as to be almost recumbent. It is 1.4m wide by 0.5m thick, and when upright must have been at least 4m high. The stone must have been in its present position for a considerable time, as the field bank has been built over its base.

GGAT description, GGAT 72 Prehistoric Funerary and Ritual Sites survey 2001:

On a fairly level area at the base of sloping ground falling to SE; now much less clear than described by previous fieldworkers.

In 1962 is was described by RCAHMW as ‘A ring cairn, 11.6 – 12.8 m in external diameter, consisting of a bank of stones 1.8 – 2.5 m wide and 0.3 m high [and an] inner kerb of upright slabs survive[ing] for a short distance on the W. The top of a single small upright is visible near the centre. A stony area 6.1m by 4.6 m adjoining the N. side of the cairn is probably the result of disturbance.‘

Now very indistinct; bank (c3m across) survives only at N and E, with possible slight indications at N and E, but peters out on S side; interior slightly dished. Entirely grass-covered, with profile confused by many small hummocks; two blocks of sandstone (0.6/0.7m across) visible at SE, and a scatter of very small blocks (0.1m). 13.8 (E-W); 0.5m high

The Ordnance Survey (1:25000) map shows the mound just to the northeast of the summit of Tomle as a “pile”. The CPAT record suggests it as a “clearance cairn”.

Whatever stonework might be under the turf is hidden. The mound is approximately circular and it would seem a strange place for a clearance cairn. Although its antiquity is unproven, my money would be on this being a round barrow or cairn, especially given the proximity of a definite example (Bwlch Maen Gwynedd Cairn) at the foot of Craig Berwyn to the west.

There are a number of other “mounds” shown on OS map along this ridge, I didn’t see the one to the northwest at SJ0818633759 on my visit.

A further isolated barrow stands on its own on the western shoulder of Tan Hill, to the east of the main group at SU07866490. EH description:

The barrow stands to a height of 1m, surrounded by a 2m deep quarry ditch, from which material was obtained during its construction. This has become infilled over the years but survives as a buried feature. A shallow depression on the centre of the barrow suggests the site has been partially excavated, probably in the 19th century, although no details are known.

Coflein description:

A mutilated and threatened round barrow, 23m in diameter and 1.4m high. Courses of crude paving and an upright, but buried, monolith are reported to have been observed. A stone-walled, slab-roofed chamber built into the S side of the monument was used as a potato store before 1938.
(source Os495card; SN97SW5)
J.wiles 22.04.02

CPAT description:

The cairn is relatively centrally placed on the level plateau of the spur. The site lies just to the NW of the confluence of two rivers, with the R Wye just to the east and the Hirnant to the west. The site is a low circular mound, partially turfed over but with much stone still evident. It appears to be formed of heaped stone with some recent additions, presumably from clearance. The upper surface is level, with no structural components visible (CPAT 2005).

Coflein descriptions:

Western cairn (SH8010718561)

Located on the crest of a ridge. A cairn of stones and boulders, approx. 8m diameter, the edges part turf-covered. The centre was scooped out when a shooting butt was built inside it in the C19.
A ring cairn (300459) lies a short distance to the E.

Recorded as part of RCAHMW Uplands Initiative Project, W B Horton, H&H, 12/10/2012.

Eastern ring cairn (SH8021218589)

A ring of stones 11.5m in diameter, 2m thick and 0.2m high. The ring of stones is well defined and has no gap. The interior is level and largely stone free. Approximately 100m to the W is another cairn (nprn 300458).

Recorded as part of RCAHMW Uplands Initiative Project, W B Horton, H&H, 15/10/2012.

Coflein description:

This is a small promontory fort crowning the highest northern spur of an isolated hill. It rests above steep slopes except on the south, where it faces the relatively level hilltop. The site was extensively excavated in 1954-9 when much early medieval material was recovered. The excavator considered this to be an early medieval fort occupying the site of an open Iron Age settlement, all overlain by a massively enclosed earthwork castle. The many caveats attending this interpretation make it problematic.
The fort is a roughly oval 0.08ha enclosure mostly defined by a broad ditched rampart with a palisade on the north. The entrance was at the north-west extremity and would have been approached along the rocky spine of the steep slopes below. There are three additional lines of ramparts on the south, one of which may have continued around the west side. The inner rampart was revetted in stone and appears to have had a timber-framed breastwork. The second rampart, also ditched, is relatively insubstantial. The two outer ramparts are again massive and appear to have been conceived as a pair, the inner again stone revetted. Traces of two rectangular buildings up to 7.5m wide were recorded in the interior.
The finds were mostly early medieval, but also included Roman material and fragments of a twelfth century pot. The ramparts overlay deposits containing Iron Age pottery. The fort does not resemble a medieval castle, but rather a later Prehistoric style hillfort and may have been established as late as the Roman period. It was clearly occupied into the early medieval period and the internal buildings could relate to this or else to an ambiguous phase signalled by the twelfth century pottery.
A bank and ditch (Bank V) running south from the fort is an old field boundary shown on the 1st edition OS County series (Glamorgan. XLVII.5 1880) and may have been connected with the enigmatic ‘causeway’.
There is a second defended enclosure 130m away on the southern edge of the hilltop (NPRN 307785).

Sources: Alcock ‘Dinas Powys’ (1963), University of Wales Press
RCAHMW Glamorgan Inventory III.1a The Earlier Castles (1991), 95-100

John Wiles 14.02.08

Southern earthwork:

This is a rectilinear earthwork enclosure set on the southern edge of a hilltop. The site was trenched in 1958.
The earthworks consist of the north-west and north-east sides of a sharp angled enclosure at least 60m north-east to south-west by 50m, resteing elsewhere above natural slopes. It was enclosed by a stone revetted bank fronted by a ditch with a second rampart and ditch on the north-west side, with an entrance at its north-east end.
This appears to be a later Prehistoric style settlement enclosure, an interpretation confirmed by the presence of Iron Age pottery in the rampart material. A more powerfully enclosed hillfort occupies the tip of the hilltop 130m to the north (NPRN 301314).

Sources: Alcock ‘Dinas Powys’ (1963), 5-6, 19-22
RCAHMW Glamorgan Inventory III.1a The Earlier Castles (1991), 98

John Wiles 14.02.08

From the Herefordshire SMR:

Field Investigator’s Comments, EH Malvern Hills AONB Project fieldwork by Herefordshire Archaeology:

The summit of Bradlow Knoll is an approximately circular mound which could be artificial. It is possible that it is a round barrow. The place name is also suggestive.

English Heritage description:

The monument includes the remains of a substantial round barrow situated on a flat open hilltop. The barrow is visible as a flat topped mound of earth and stone, 24m in diameter and up to 1.5m high. The summit of the mound has been disturbed by exploration at some time in the past, creating a central crater 5m in diameter and 0.6m deep. Although no longer discernible as a surface feature, a ditch, from which material was quarried during the construction of the monument, surrounds the mound. This has become infilled over the years but survives as a buried feature some 2m wide.

English Heritage description:

The monument includes a substantial round barrow situated on the summit of Minton Hill. The barrow is visible as a circular, well defined stony mound, 16m in diameter and 1m high. The flattened summit of the mound has been disturbed by exploration at some time in the past creating a central hollow 2m in diameter and 0.3m deep. Although no longer discernible as a surface feature, a ditch, from which material was quarried during the construction of the monument, surrounds the mound. This has become infilled over the years but survives as a buried feature some 2m wide.

A very well-preserved Iron Age round house site, approximately halfway between the Neolithic Carneddau Hengwm and the Bronze Age Hengwm cairn circle.

Excavated in 2003 by University of Bangor and Gwynedd Archaeological Trust staff.

GAT description:

A “concentric circle” type homestead of Prehistoric date (c. 500 BC) enclosed by massive circular stone banks. The site is located to the east of Tyddyn-y-felin and has other remains associated to the south.

Sources :
Riley, H. & Roberts, R. , 1995 , Ceilwart to Barmouth Mains Refurbishment: Archaeological Assessment

From Canmore:

Numerous interments of human bodies were found, all of them regularly placed, and many of them in Gaelic sarcophagi of four pieces of thin stone. In 1812 was found on the Bass a stone hatchet, among ashes. The site was probably a Bronze Age burial site.

(D Erskine 1828)

A natural mound with an artificial mound on top. To the W and S the artificial mound is indistinguishable from the natural steep slope towards the river. A modern construction called ‘The Temple of the Muse’ in memory of the poet Thomson, is built on top of this artificial mound, which was probably erected to form a base for it.

From GGAT record:

A small well-preserved round cairn within the remains of a ring cairn or low counterscarp bank. A triangulation pillar has been erected on top of the cairn, but the damage is minimal.

The round cairn is 6.60m in diameter and 0.50m high. The ring cairn/counterscarp is 13.3m in external diameter, 1.5m wide and 0.20m high.

The ring cairn is best preserved on the southern third of its circumference, the remainder of its circuit having been largely destroyed.

The site stands on the summit of Twyn yr Hyddod with spectacular views over the Sirhywi valley to the east and the Brecon Beacons to the north.

Carolyn Kennett (CarolynK on TMA) took us to this special site. A gap between the rock of the tor forms an aperture that frames Carn Galva to the west. The midsummer sunset can be viewed sinking along the crest of the rocky ridge.

Whether it’s a natural arrangement or has been set up to give this view, I guess we’ll never be sure.

There is a further large barrow on Lady Downs at SW 4717 3651. Cornwall & Scilly HER description:

tumulus is marked at Lady Downs on current OS maps. Edmonds mentions a barrow 80ft (24.48m) in diameter and between five and six feet (1.52m to 1.83m) high. Henderson recorded “a very large ring type barrow, 66ft diameter (20.19m) and composed of loose stones. It is in a very mutilated condition and no large stones remain evidently due to having been used as a quarry”. Survey by the OS in 1961 recorded that the barrow is as described by Henderson and now has a maximum height of 1.7m.

A quick update on access: my old OS map shows the circle as being outside the access land area, so I went and asked in the farmyard (three people, one barking dog) where permission and directions were readily given.

I do note however that the latest editions of the OS 1:250000 map available online show the site as being within the open access land boundary now, so no permission is technically needed. Given its proximity to the farm and the fact the easy and obvious route to it is through the farmyard, asking still seems like a good idea and may be appreciated (if anyone is around to ask, other than the dog).

Coflein description:

A possible cairn, set upon a summit, 8.0m in diameter and 0.4m high, has had a shelter constructed into its centre and an OS triangulation pillar erected upon its S margins.

There are reports of a circular feature, or earthwork in this vicinity.

Coflein descriptions:

I – at SN81150591 13.4m in diameter and 0.6m high, with indications of internal structure and having a modern shelter constructed over its N side;

II – at SN81200589 7.0m in diameter and showing signs of robbing.

III – at SN8105005840 A simple regular, round cairn, 8.0m in diameter and 0.3m high, with occasional kerbing showing about the perimeter.

Coflein descriptions of the two cairns:

Large round cairn (A) measuring c. 20.4m long from E to W by c. 17.7m wide and 0.9m high. The base of the mound may be partly natural and the actual cairn appears to have been circular and about 15.2m in diameter. A kerb of slabs laid flat is visible for a short distance to the S. At the centre are irregular hollows and a dry-built modern shelter.

At 12m NE of cairn A is another circular mound of stones about 7.6m in diameter and 0.6m high. A deep central hollow testifies to disturbance and shows the cairn is built mainly of slabs lying flat upon one another.

This is almost definitely a natural rock outcrop on the boundary between common heath and forestry. The site consists of a massive stone block, c.2m high x 3m wide x 3.5m long, originally recorded as a possible standing stone by the RCAHM in 1914, which lies in association with other outcropping rocks. Natural feature. N Cook PFRS 2004

Prehistoric Funerary & Ritual Sites Project Pembrokeshire 2003-2004 ( © DAT)

Coflein description:

Five cairns, 2.1-3.4m across and 0.1m high, have been noted in an area of “faint humps”, possibly representing further cairns.

5 cairns marked on the OS 1:25000 map, in a line running from NNW to SSE over the course of about 3/4 of a mile. Coflein descriptions, NNW – SSE:

Cairn I (SO0751705038)

This Bronze Age cairn lies on a relatively level part of Merthyr Common. It measures 5.2 metres in diameter and stands 0.30 metres high with a slight dip in its centre. It is grass-covered so the make-up and structure of the cairn cannot be ascertained.

Round barrow (SO0754504975)

First surveyed in 1960, this low, grass-covered, stony mound lies to the east of the minor road, NPRN 528728, that runs down Merthyr Common. It measures 8.5 metres east to west by 6.1 metres and 0.2 metres high. When the area was surveyed as part of the Uplands Initiative by Trysor in 2012 vegetation cover was grass.

Ring cairn (SO0773904493)

This small ring cairn is one of several cairns on this relatively level area of Merthyr Common. It measures about 9 metres overall, with the ring itself being 3 metres wide and 0.3 metres high. It is grass-covered but a few stones can be seen, the southwest part of the cairn has been damaged by vehicles in the past.

Possible ring cairn (SO0779304404)

This cairn on the eastern side of the minor road across Merthyr Common measures 16.8m in overall diameter. It is defined by an encircling bank of stones 2.5m wide and 0.4m high on the west, diminishing to 1.8m wide and 0.3m high on the east. Whether a robbed round cairn or possible ring cairn is uncertain. Previously surveyed in 1960 and 1979.
A centrally placed electricity pole has been sawn off at the base. When the area was surveyed as part of the Uplands Initiative by Trysor in 2012 vegetation cover was grass and moss.

Possible ring cairn II (SO0785004250)

A turf-covered ring of stones measures 14.9m (N-S) by 13.7m overall, 1.5m wide and 0.2m high. A large amount of loose stone at the centre of the ring suggests the former presence of an internal platform though possibly caused by more recent stone dumping. Like its neighbour it is unclear whether this is a robbed round cairn or a disturbed ring cairn.

An electricity pole has previously been inserted into the inside of the ring on the south, but this has now been refused.

Coflein descriptions, north to south:

Northern cairn I (SO0792003970)

A turf-covered cairn with many stones exposed, much of the cairn having been robbed. There are no visible traces of a cist or other structural features, nor of a surrounding ditch. The cairn measures 11.6m diameter and takes the form of a platform 0.1m high with a rim 2.5m wide raised to 0.3m high. On the north-east is superimposed eccentrically a second mound 6.1m in diameter and 0.3m high. The latter may well have resulted from interference with the mound. The site is otherwise as described in 1960 (RC Inventory) and 1979 (OS).

Northern cairn II (SO0795003980)

A low circular bank 1.5m wide and 0.2m high, 15m in overall diameter. Set eccentrically (SW) within the otherwise level and stoneless interior lies a mutilated mound 5m in diameter and 0.2m high.

Summit cairn I (SO0791303464)

This grass-covered stony mound lies in a prominent position on top of a ridge on Merthyr Common. It measures 9m (N-S) by 8m and 0.5m high and has an uneven dished surface. When the area was surveyed as part of the Uplands Initiative by Trysor in 2012 vegetation cover was bilberries and grass.

Summit cairn II (SO0788003330)

A turf-covered cairn measuring 4.8m in diameter and 0.5m high is surmounted by a OS trig pillar. This may represent the re-use of a round barrow though the mound may have been created to support the pillar.

Southern cairn (SO0796003010)

A cairn on open land is defined by a slightly raised circular platform and measures 12m in overall diameter. Around it is a perimeter bank 2m wide and 0.3m high which contains three protruding stones. But on its west side it is dominated by outcropping rock and boulders. A possible ring cairn or rimmed platform cairn.

GGAT description:

Upright slab of sandstone, trapezoidal in shape. Flat faces to SW and NE, leans slightly towards NE. Slab is spalling, but not apparently very badly. Ground worn into shallow hollow on NE side, revealing small blocks and slabs of sandstone; others are visible on the other sides. Dimensions: Lgth base 0.9m, top 0.65m; max ht 0.85m; 0.3m thck.

(1956) A considerable weathered stone slab situated on the top of a hill. It is 0.8m wide, 0.7m high, and 0.3m thick. There is no visible trace of surrounding mound. It looks as though it has been erected, but in this area rock-outcrop is often similar in appearance though usually it has a slight lean in contrast to this stone.

(1976) An upright slab too small for inclusion.
GGAT 72 Prehistoric Funerary and Ritual Sites Project.

CADW scheduling description of the cairnfield:

The monument comprises the remains of several prehistoric round cairns, burial mounds probably dating to the Bronze Age (c.2300 BC – 800 BC). Located on an elongated plateau at nearly 360m above OD, the number of cairns is exceptional.

Seventy-eight small stony mounds have been identified scattered irregularly over an area about 640m north-south by 230m wide. One mound (Cairn A) is 6.1m in diameter and 0.6m high and appears to have contained a cist and to have been surrounded by a rough kerb. The remainder comprise structureless cairns of stone, mostly very low and inconspicuous; only three are as much as 1m high. The majority (sixty-six) have their larger diameters ranging from 2.8 to 6.7m; of these, fifty-one are round, the rest oval. Ten are larger, four being round measuring from 7.3 to 10.4m in diameter, the remainder being oval, lengths ranging from 8 to 11m. Near the northern limit of the group, a low bank, about 3.7m wide and 0.6m high where best preserved crosses the plateau. Near its eastern end two upright slabs 1.7m apart probably indicate its original width. A branch to the south forms an incomplete enclosure. Near the southern limit are the foundations of two rectangular buildings about 10.7 by 4.6m, now represented by slight low banks about 0.9m wide. The presence of these buildings and of the low bank suggests that some of the cairns may be no more than clearance dumps, but some would be acceptable in isolation as burial cairns, especially that which shows traces of kerbing, and the larger cairn at the south-eastern limit of the group.

Two cairns on Mynydd Llangeinwyr, Coflein/GGAT descriptions:

Southern cairn (SS9197090610)

An oval stony mound, 7.6m E-W by 6.1m and 0.3m high.

Entirely grass-covered and roughly flat-topped mound, slightly dished in from the edges; stone can be detected in the interior so it is unlikely to be a ring cairn, unless the centre was later filled. Sheep track runs across monument N-S, and appears to have dug into it slightly.

Northern cairn (SS9198291967)

This low circular cairn measures 6 metres in diameter, and is up to 0.5 metres high. It is covered with bilberry and grass.

The northern cairn is not marked on the OS map.

Two (possible) cairns on the upper slopes of Pant Blaenhirwr, Coflein descriptions:

Garn Lwyd (SS9198090140)

A suggested ring cairn, 14m SW-NE to 12.5m overall diameter, in an uncharacteristic on a steep NE-facing slope.

Pant Blaenhirwr SW (SS9170189893)

A low mound, 3.5 metres in diameter and 0.3 metres high with a high stone content. The vegetation cover was grass in December 2011.

From the Heritage England/Pastscape record:

The round barrow cemetery includes six bowl barrows, all of which have been excavated and all survive differentially: four are circular mounds of between 11.8m and 24m in diameter and from 0.2m up to 2.1m high surrounded by buried quarry ditches from which the construction material was derived; two are preserved as entirely buried structures layers and deposits visible as soil or crop marks on aerial photographs with diameters of 10.9m and 21.9m. Two of the extant mounds are conjoined but excavation showed them to be two entirely separate bowl barrows.

All except one of the bowl barrows were excavated by Cunnington in the period from 1855-8. They produced a wide range of finds, including barbed and tanged arrowheads, burnt bones, animal bones, daggers, worked antler, a quartz pebble, whetstones, a slate wrist guard, a bell beaker and sherds of Romano-British pottery as well as the primary and secondary cremations and inhumations set into grave pits or wooden boxes. One further bowl barrow was excavated by Thurnam in the mid 19th century but only an empty cist was revealed. The southernmost ‘barrow’ excavated by W Cunnington in 1805 appeared not to be a bowl barrow despite still surviving as a circular mound of 15m in diameter and up to 1m high. Instead this mound was a hlaew which contained a primary Anglo-Saxon inhumation orientated east to west and accompanied by an iron ring, a bone gaming piece and a shield boss. A second excavation (by a different Cunnington – Henry or William Jnr) carried out in 1877 which produced a flint knife and whetstone may not have been from this mound at all.

The entire cemetery lies within the Registered Battlefield – the Battle of Roundway Down, 1643 – an English Civil War skirmish which saw a defeat for the Parliamentary forces many of whom were killed as cavalry horses hurtled over the steep scarp sides at nearby Oliver’s Castle (scheduled separately) plunging into what became known as ‘Bloody Ditch’.

Wiltshire and Swindon HER Descriptions of the barrows that still exist above ground surface level, from west to east:

Northwestern barrow (SU01490 64839)

Two confluent bowl barrows. The West mound was opened and revealed a wooden coffin containing burnt bones and a dagger. East mound contained a primary cremation and other finds. Also an intrusive burial of unknown date. Barrow G5b contained a small unworked pebble with a fractured end. It was Petrologically tested and found to be a rolled chert pebble. An unworked fragment of stone from the primary cremation in barrow G5b was also Petrologically tested and found to be coarse grained grey sandstone, and two other fragments of stone proved to be ferruginous sandstone.

Southwestern barrow (SU 01937 64340)

Bowl barrow with intrusive Saxon burial, opened by William Cunnington in 1805, who also found an iron ring, bone gaming pieces and a possible shield boss. Thought to have been opened again in 1877 by Henry or William Cunnington Jnr., who recovered a flint knife. An irregularly shaped tabular whetstone from a primary cremation in the bowl barrow was sent for Petrological testing, and was identified as being made of fine grained reddish sandstone.

Central barrow (SU02128 64604)

Bowl barrow opened by J Thurnam who found an empty cist indicating a previous disturbance.

Eastern barrow (SU02513 64754)

Mutilated Bronze Age bowl barrow.

Several cairns of various types along the Mynydd Bach ridge. North to south descriptions:

Mynydd Bach 2/Maesycymmer cairn (ST1703292614)

GGAT description:

A robbed cairn 16m in diameter with a few stones protruding through its grass covered surface. It is 0.6m high on the E side and 0.2m high on the W side. There are shallow depressions in the top and sides. No cist or retaining circle is visible.

Maesycymmer Ring Cairn (ST16979246)

Not shown on the OS map. GGAT description:

A cairn 23m in diameter with a maximum height of 1m. A fragmentary rim is visible but within the rim mutilation is extensive and the mound is of irregular height and plan. No cist is visible. The cairn is partly grass covered and is in the path of an encroaching coal tip.

Mynydd Bach 1/Ynysddu/Pen-rhiw cairn (ST1678991977)

GGAT description:

The cairn is situated on the top of the ridge, in a grass field. It is turf covered, c.13m in diameter and 1m high. In the middle two slabs of a cist are showing, 1m and 0.75m long, in a depression, 1.5m by 1.5m and 0.7m deep. Some small stones are lying in this depression, and some larger ones are lying on the surface. On the northern side is a disturbance hollow, turf-covered, 2m in diameter, and 0.5m deep, with a few large stones lying in it. To the W of the cairn is an area of quarrying.

Pont Bren Gwyn ring cairn (ST1708091940)

Not shown on the OS map. Coflein description:

On a narrow strip of open land between field walls and a track over the mountain lies the remains of a ring feature. It is defined by an arc of stony bank, open on the W side, measuring 2m-3m wide and 0.5m high on the outer E side but only 0.25m internally. The overall diameter of the ring would have been about 10.5m.

Coflein description:

A possible standing stone near the intersection of a field boundary and road south-west of Tyle-gwyn Farm, Wyllie of presently undetermined date and character.

A.N. Coward, RCAHMW, 02.01.2019

From Dr Toby Driver, RCAHMW, 9th October 2018:

There is a high likelihood that the lake was a place of sacred importance in the Iron Age given the find of a hoard of La Tene Late Iron Age metalwork (NPRN 419531) a kilometre to the south-east on the mountain path up to the lake. However, further archaeological investigation of the landscape environs of the lake are required to place it in a more robust archaeological context.

The horde was found below Llyn Cau in a cavity below a large boulder protruding from the mountainside;

Field visit by Toby Driver, RCAHMW, 11th December 2013. The find spot is marked by a prominent glacial boulder, naturally fallen into its present position and propped up on massive upright stones so as to resemble an artificial ‘burial chamber’. Beneath the boulder is a dark, nartually formed ‘chamber’ which may have attracted Iron Age people to use the site as a place of deposition. The find spot lies alongside the modern Minffordd path up to Llyn Cau and Cadair Idris, suggesting considerable antiquity to this particular route. Across the path from the propped boulder, and below the line of the track, is a minor spring formed of rock slabs on three sides of a cleared, damp area. This spring head, if ancient, may have further influenced the hoard site. The boulder marking the find spot is the most prominent and impressive of its kind flanking the path as it ascends from the valley floor to the open mountain above. It is perhaps the only boulder formation which may have suggested an artificial construct or chamber to prehistoric people. It is likely that the corrie lake at Llyn Cau was the focus for any traveller climbing this path in antiquity, perhaps for ritual purposes, and therefore the attribution of the hoard to ‘Tal-y-llyn’ is potentially misleading in the interpretation of its landscape context.

According to Gwynedd Archaeological Trust, there are the remains of a cairn and cist right on the summit of Diffwys:

On the highest point at 750m, approx 18m N/S and 12m E/W, with high crags dropping to the E.

Heavily robbed for the modern wall crossing the cairn but with undisturbed cairn material surviving up to 0.5m above the natural hill top.

Just W of the wall are two arcs of large, radially set stones and two large edge set stones, 1.5m and 1m long, set at 90 degrees, forming part of a cist which appears to have been robbed.

Kicking myself that I didn’t check Historic Wales before traipsing up here in September!

Details of the two of the cairns on Tick Law from the SMR:

The two round cairns, 655m and 882m SSW of Blawearie are reasonably well-preserved and are highly representative of their period. The presence of upstanding remains indicates that the monument will contain archaeological deposits relating to its construction and use. The presence of a covered cist indicates that these will include below ground funerary deposits and comparison with other similar sites suggest that they may also include evidence of earlier funerary structures such as stake-holes or the remains of prior treatment of the ground surface such as ard marks.

...

The monument includes the remains of two round cairns of Bronze Age date, situated on a north west-south east ridge-top stretching northwards from Tick Law. The southerly cairn (NU0810 2158), which measures approximately 7.6m in diameter and 0.4m in height, has evidence of kerbstones and a depression in its centre that has revealed a stone cist cover stone. To the north west is a second cairn (NU0825 2176) measuring approximately 7.6m in diameter with a height of up to 1.1m. The presence of kerbstones, a cist cover and the similarity between the two suggests them both to be funerary structures.

The grid reference for the second cairn doesn’t appear correct. The “southerly cairn” at NU08102158 is shown on the OS map lying to the NW of another cairn at NU08352132. The grid ref given for the NW cairn in the record would actually lie to the NNE not the NW of the “southerly cairn”. I found cairns at the two locations on the OS map, but I didn’t look for anything at the NNE reference above, which is in an area of deep heather.

Three cairns on the southeastern end of the ridge. GGAT descriptions, north to south:

Northern cairn at SO1315203399

A circular mound, with a slightly dished centre and well defined edges. The barrow is covered by grass and bilberry, but the composition is clearly of stone; a large upturned stone slab (probably the remains of a cist) is exposed in the centre, and six other large stone fragments are also evident. Many smaller stones are visible on the surface or can be detected by probing.
Dimensions: diameter 8.5m; height 0.5m.

Central cairn at SO1317903242

A circular mound, with a dished centre and moderately well defined edges. The barrow is covered by grass and bilberry, but abundant stone can be detected beneath the turf.
Dimensions: diameter 6.2m; height 0.6m.

Southern cairn at SO1297503097

An approximately circular mound on roughly level ground to the S of Cefn-y-Brithdir. The edges are poorly defined and difficult to discern, and the S half of the monument is badly damaged. The barrow is covered by grass and ferns but stone can be detected beneath the turf. At the centre, a leaning slab 1.1m long, 0.7m wide and 0.15m thick probably represents the remains of a cist; a few metres to the S a partly buried stone may be the dislodged capstone.
Dimensions: diameter c9m; height c0.7m

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.

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 cairns near the edge of Curbar Edge. Descriptions from Heritage Gateway:

Curbar Edge NW (SK 2548 7560)

18m in diameter and 1m high, hollowed out as a result of excavation 24.4.1913 by the gamekeeper Mr. E. Peat and the Marquis of Granby who found a bronze knife-dagger, burnt bones, a food vessel, flint thumb scraper and a central cist of large slabs.

Curbar Edge SE (SK 2589 7509)

The monument is prominently located 50m from the edge towards its southern end and includes a roughly circular heather-covered gritstone cairn with a diameter of c.12m and a height of c.1.2m. Although the monument has not been excavated, its form and location, together with its proximity to other prehistoric remains, indicate a Bronze Age date.

As well as the long barrow, there is a round barrow across the road in the field to the north, apparently known as Royal Oak Field.

Summary of Pastscape details:

A round barrow situated at SP 06701239 upon the gentle north-facing slope of a ridge. The barrow measures in diameter 29.0m north-south by 26.0m transversely, with a maximum height of 1.0m. There are no visible remains of a ditch; under plough.

Two upright slabs seen in 1936 after ploughing are no longer visible.

The Bronze Age barrow is not clearly visible on the available aerial photographs, although a lighter coloured area, which is probably caused by a spread of the stone material that formed the mound, is visible in 1946.

From the Gloucestershire HER:

1999 – Site visited by A Douthwaite of English Heritage on 04/02/1999 as a result of MPP. The barrow was first reported in the late 1970s, by Saville and Drinkwater during fieldwalking, as a small mound about 8m in diameter and 0.3m high with a small central excavation crater.

On visiting the site it became clear nothing of the mound survived. The area in which it was reported to lie is currently under pasture, but was ploughed until c.1990 and it is quite possible that the barrow was destroyed during this period.

There are two surviving round barrows on the southern shoulder of Grindle. A further barrow formerly crowned the summit of the hill, but has been destroyed.

Descriptions from the Shropshire HER:

Southern barrow (SO 4286 9241)

The monument includes a bowl barrow situated overlooking a steep east-facing scarp slope. The barrow is visible as a well defined, slightly oval, mound with dimensions of 10m north-east to south-west by 9m transversely and standing up to 0.6m high. The summit of the mound has been disturbed and hollowed to a depth of 0.2m by exploration at some time in the past. Although not visible at surface level, a ditch, from which material was quarried during the construction of the monument, surrounds the mound. This has become infilled over the years but survives as a buried feature some 2m wide.

Visited during a condition survey by the English Heritage Field Monument Warden, in 2000. Condition recorded as fair – covered by thick old heather.

Northern barrow (SO 4290 9244)

The monument includes a bowl barrow situated on the lip of a steep east facing scarp slope. The barrow is visible as a well defined, slightly oval mound of earth and stone construction, with dimensions of 11.7m north east to south west by 10m transversely and standing up to 0.8m high. The summit of the mound is flattened and slightly hollowed as a result of exploration at some time in the past forming a shallow central crater 3m in diameter and 0.2m deep. The centre of this crater shows the inner fabric of the mound to comprise angular limestone blocks of a fairly uniform size between 10cm and 20cm. Although not visible at surface level, a ditch, from which material was quarried during the construction of the monument, surrounds the mound. This has become infilled through the passage of time but survives as a buried feature some 2m wide.

Visited during a condition survey by the English Heritage Field Monument Warden, in 2000. Condition recorded as fair – covered by thick old heather.

Summit barrow (destroyed – SO 4300 9265)

The most northerly of the three barrows on Grindle Nills, circular in plan, 40ft in diameter by 18ins high.

The barrow has been destroyed. Its site is marked at SO4302 9265 by a roughly circular bed of stones, within an area of heather, 7.5m in diameter, upon which, on the N side, stands a modern cairn of stones. Embedded into the S side is an OS triangulation bolt.