GLADMAN

I first came here some 18 years ago... leaving without ‘postable’ photos, owing to the highly overgrown state of the monument at that time. I did not, however, leave imageless... those vivid pictures that remain within the mind long after a compelling event has (apparently) passed.

Yeah, such was the vibe that day that I am compelled to visit once again following an extended sojourn within not-too-distant King’s Wood. To see if things have changed in the interim? As it happens, they haven’t. At least not to any great extent, the great ‘oval mound’ still remains cloaked in foliage, the vibe still incredibly intense within the welcoming bosom of so much vegetation.

Historic England has the following to say:

“The monument in Shrub’s Wood, an oval barrow or burial mound dating from the Neolithic period, includes not only a large earthen mound but also the broad ditches which flank the mound. The mound itself is orientated E-W, measures 38m in length, up to 19m in width and survives to an impressive 2m above the level of the surrounding land at its highest point. On either flank of the mound, and extending along its full length, are ditches from which the earth was quarried for its construction. Having been largely infilled by erosion of the mound and the ditch sides, these slightly curving ditches are now broad and shallow, measuring typically 5m across but only 0.5m deep. The ditch on the southern side is the more easily visible.”

So, to translate: the long barrow is still some 125ft long – which is pretty long, to be fair – and over 6ft high. Yeah, the inhabitants of Bodsham are lucky people, methinks.

Marked upon current 1:25k OS mapping as ‘Mound’, this proved to be an unexpectedly fine, obscure long barrow.... of which I was previously ignorant until but a week beforehand. Aren’t such monuments the best ones? Part of a trio of well-preserved long barrows in the extended locale of the Great Stour (along with the excellent – if very, very overgrown – Bodsham... and Cope’s celebrated Julliberrie’s Grave), the monument still rises to over 6ft high at the south-eastern terminus.... and is a – frankly whopping – c230ft in length!

Historic England’s scheduling has this to say:

“...The Long Barrow is situated on level ground at the top of the North Downs scarp overlooking the valley of the Great Stour. It is oriented SE-NW, with the SE end broader and surviving to a greater height. The most distinctive feature of the monument is the elongated earthen mound, measuring some 70m in length and 10-12m in width. It stands to a height of 2m above the surrounding area at the SE end, and 1m at the NW end. Less obvious but nevertheless discernible are two long but shallow depressions alongside the mound which are now no more then 20-30cm deep but which are the filled-in remains of two deep flanking ditches, the same length as the mound itself, from which earth and chalk was quarried to make the mound. No excavations appear to have taken place at this monument, but its form is distinctively that of a Neolithic burial mound. Similar examples which have been excavated have shown that a burial chamber containing the remains of a number of individuals can be expected at the eastern end of the monument....”

Unmarked upon existing OS mapping, this is a rather fine cist set in the locale of the Teifi Pools... source of the river... tucked between the extended ‘Green Desert’ of Cwmdeuddwr and Pumlumon.

Coflein notes:

“Located just off the crest of a ridge on W-facing sloping ground at 405m above OD, near the head of a stream valley. The cairn is a turf-covered stony mound measuring 6m in diameter and 0.5m high. The body of the cairn contains some small boulders. At its centre lies a rifled cist. It consists of four upright and leaning slabs and measures internally 1.18m (N-S) by 0.72m. The capstone, perhaps broken up or removed, is no longer visible.” [D.K.Leighton 29 March 2005]

Travellers approaching the great cemetery upon Moel y Llyn from the east will, naturally, encounter this ‘bonus’ pair of cairns as a rather splendid hors d’oeuvres.

Coflein reckons:

“One of two closely-spaced cairns located one above the other on the rising south-east side of a col below the eastern slopes of Moel y Llyn, close to a track and a forestry boundary. The lower (westernmost) of the two measures 11m (NE-SW) by 9m and 0.5m high on the uphill side, 2m above the track which passes by on the north-west....” [David Leighton, RCAHMW, 12 June 2012]

Historic England summarises this impressive monument thus:

“A cairn situated on the flat crest of the south-east spur of Royal Hill at 395.0m OD being a mound of partly-turf-covered large stones with a depression in the centre. Its diameter is 16.0m and its maximum height 1.6m.”

Clearly, not a site to miss when visiting the other excellent cairns/cists in the locale of Royal Hill.

The most satisfying discovery of an out-and-back walk from NantyMaen to Bryn Cosyn – not least due to its excellent positioning overlooking the Groes Fawr – this monument also features the remnants of a cist. Hey, Coflein postulates more than one, but there you are:

“Denuded kerb cairn with the remains of one and possibly two cists”. [J.Wiles 31.01.02]

According to Coflein, the base of this ‘marker cairn’ is indeed of prehistoric ancestry:

“A more recent cairn, 2 metres by 2 metres, 1 metre high, built on top of earlier Bronze Age cairn” [J. J. Hall, Trysor, 8th February 2013]

Coflein reckons this monument, another of an extended group in the locality of the Groes Fawr, represents:

“[the]Remains of a cairn 7 metres in diameter, 0.4 metres high. On the southeast side small upright stones along 1 metre of the perimeter are the remains of kerbing. There is a fence along the south side”. [J. J. Hall, Trysor, 9th February 2013]

But one of a series of ancient cairns encountered upon a low-level trek from Nant y Maen towards Carn Gron within deepest Mid Wales...

Coflein reckons the monument is:

“A rather irregular cairn, c.6.0m in diameter & 0.6m high, showing elements of kerbing indicating a ring, c.5.0m in diameter; a probable central cist is 1.5m NNE-SSW by 0.7m.” [source: Briggs 1994 (Cardigan County Hist. I), 180-1 fig38.5) J.Wiles 21.07.04]

To be fair, the posted images say all there is to say about the quality of this excellent cist – for me, the finest of the monuments clustered around Bellever Tor.

Located within sight of the nearby stone row, this well-preserved cist – like its neighbour – is not marked upon current OS mapping... forming but one of the Cwmdeuddwr Hill’s many, many prehistoric gems just waiting to be discovered.

Two Bronze Age cairns standing overlooking Cwrt-y-Cadno (The Fox Court) upon the south-western flanks of Mynydd Mallaen. A good excuse to lose yourself (not literally, one would hope) for several hours upon these hills. The southern monument remains pretty substantial, the northern rather ‘lower’, yet still retaining a significant diameter. Both cairns feature a prominent ‘slab’ which may, or may not have formally been part of a cist or chamber. Who knows?

Nowadays, this part of Mid Wales is a haven of tranquillity... however, this wasn’t always the case. The Romans – yeah, them – came to mine gold, the remains of their aqueducts apparently still visible if you know where to look (The Citizen Cairn did not). Later on, Cwrt-y-Cadno was a noted ‘stop-over’ point for drovers taking their cattle all the way to London. Times change, eh?

Coflein notes:

“Remains of two burial mounds, situated in enclosed pasture. The northernmost cairn (Item A: SN69594299) measures about 14m in diameter and up to 0.6m in height”. [Source: Cadw Scheduling Description. FF 04.01.2005]

Not marked upon current OS mapping, this is nevertheless well worth the dedicated Citizen Cairn seeking out. Located – as the professionals’ prosaic name makes clear – overlooking the Afon Prysor upon the uncompromising Migneint, my route, initially following the nearby Nant Gefail-y-miners from the B4391 was, to say the least, heavy going.

Coflein reckons:

“Remains of a burial cairn, probably dating to the Bronze Age, and situated within open moorland on an outcropping ridge above Afon Prysor. The stone built cairn is circular on plan and measures about 6m in diameter and up to 0.5m in height. Several definite kerbstones are visible. The cairn has been deliberately positioned below the summit of the ridge on a slight terrace but set back from the leading edge”. [Source: Cadw scheduling description. 11/08/2004 FF]

This is by far the most significant of a small cemetery of cairns located below, and a little to the south, of the great summit cairn of Craig Twrch... the well-preserved cist found to be still in situ makes a pause here imperative.

Millpond Wood is a veritable oasis of calm and greenery – assuming you discount the noisy japes of a couple of lads playing football in a nearby back garden – set between the Sevenoaks suburbs of St Johns, Seal and, appropriately enough, Wildernesse. Yeah, surrounded by housing estates as this woodland is, arguably the last thing one would expect to encounter would be a great round barrow upon its eastern fringes... and a pretty odd one at that, having been the depository for copious Mesolithic ‘artefacts’.

I approached via Pinewood Avenue – having made sure I wouldn’t annoy any locals with my finely honed lack of parking prowess – turning left, then left again as I entered the sanctuary of the canopy. Despite being bisected by a wide path, not to mention acting as the depository for some idiot’s grass cuttings, the barrow remains a substantial, upstanding monument. A rather idyllic setting, if the truth be told, particularly smothered with quite outstanding early May bluebells.

Furthermore, numerous locals out and about couldn’t have been more friendly, even a bloke who looked and sounded like Bez’s best mate. Well, all except one miserable old bat who objected about something or other – no idea what. But hey, there’s always one, isn’t there?