thesweetcheat

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.