Ring cairn on the summit of Pen-y-wern Hill

Reasons for Designation

A ring cairn is a prehistoric ritual monument comprising a circular bank of stones up to 20m in diameter surrounding a hollow central area. The bank may be kerbed on the inside, and sometimes on the outside as well, with small uprights or laid boulders. Ring cairns are found mainly in upland areas of England and are mostly discovered and authenticated by fieldwork and ground level survey, although a few are large enough to be visible on aerial photographs. They often occur in pairs or small groups of up to four examples. Occasionally they lie within round barrow cemeteries. Ring cairns are interpreted as ritual monuments of Early and Middle Bronze Age date. The exact nature of the rituals concerned is not fully understood, but excavation has revealed pits, some containing burials and others containing charcoal and pottery, taken to indicate feasting activities associated with the burial rituals. Many areas of upland have not yet been surveyed in detail and the number of ring cairns in England is not accurately known. However, available evidence indicates a population of between 250 and 500 examples. As a relatively rare class of monument exhibiting considerable variation in form, all positively identified examples retaining significant archaeological deposits are considered worthy of preservation.

The ring cairn on Pen-y-wern Hill survives well and is a good example of its class. It will retain archaeological evidence relating to the construction of the cairn and its subsequent use. Environmental evidence relating to the landscape in which it was constructed will be preserved beneath the mound and in the ditch fill.

Details

The monument includes a ring cairn situated on the rounded summit of Pen-y-wern Hill. The ring cairn survives as a flat-topped circular mound 30m in diameter and up to 0.9m high. The mound is irregular and hummocky over much of its upper surface and a shallow hollow 5m in diameter and 0.3m deep lies south west of its centre. Around the perimeter of the mound are eleven earthfast kerb stones, the largest with dimensions of 0.8m by 0.4m. Other stones scattered across the surface of the mound are loose and have probably been disturbed from the cairn edge. Although no longer visible as a surface feature a ditch will surround the mound with an estimated width of 2m. An associated stone 150m SE, formally standing upright, is related to the ring cairn, though the subject of a separate scheduling.

MAP EXTRACT The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

19165

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Other
SMR ref 01162, Chitty, L F,

End of official list entry

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