Foel Chwern is a
Round cairn
A bowl barrow is a type of burial mound or tumulus. A barrow is a mound of earth used to cover a tomb. The bowl barrow gets its name from its resemblance to an upturned bowl. Related terms include ''cairn circle'', ''cairn ring'', ''howe'', ''ker ...
on the edge of the high plateau east of the Neath valley, and near the summit of
Craig y Llyn
Craig y Llyn (Welsh, 'rock/cliff of the lake') is a mountain situated to the south of the village of Rhigos in the Cynon Valley on the south side of the upper Vale of Neath and north of the Rhondda Valleys in South Wales; it is the highest point ...
. The headwaters of the
River Rhondda are to the south-west. It is a burial monument dating to the
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second prin ...
, and is sited on the edge of a steep scarp slope, with a wide field of view to the north. The long distance footpath
Coed Morgannwg Way runs close by the cairn. Conifer plantations of the
Rheola Forest surround the site.
Cairn
The cairn is a mound roughly across and high, made up of small stones. The visible ones appear to be slabs of the locally occurring sandstone, although much of the mound is grass covered, so most stones are obscured and the edge is very indistinct.
[Glamorgan Gwent Archaeological Trust: , accessed 12 May 2014] In 1977 the mound was reported to have received some damage during 20th century forestry activity, and received a partial excavation around this time, which confirmed its size, but revealed neither any burials nor any other finds.
[ The cairn is a ]Scheduled Monument
In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change.
The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...
.
Situation
The scarp edge on which the cairn was built is at above sea level, on a ridge that culminates half a mile (1km) to the south at the summit of Craig y Llyn
Craig y Llyn (Welsh, 'rock/cliff of the lake') is a mountain situated to the south of the village of Rhigos in the Cynon Valley on the south side of the upper Vale of Neath and north of the Rhondda Valleys in South Wales; it is the highest point ...
, the highest point in Glamorgan It is a large tract of unnocupied land, with nor roads, now substantially planted with conifers.[''Neath Port Talbot Landmap: Landscape Assessment'']
Final Report, 2003, Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council and Countryside Council for Wales. p.63. Accessed 12 May 2014 It is part of the Rheola Forest, which occupies a large area to the east of the Neath valley, above Cwmgwrach
Blaengwrach ( ; ) is a community near Glynneath and Resolven in the county borough of Neath Port Talbot, Wales. It is also the name of an electoral ward of Neath Port Talbot county borough, which is a larger area than the Community. The principal ...
, planted with spruce and larch by the Forestry Commission
The Forestry Commission is a non-ministerial government department responsible for the management of publicly owned forests and the regulation of both public and private forestry in England.
The Forestry Commission was previously also respon ...
in the mid 20th century. Before that years of coalmining had left over 150 collieries and mines and 15 tramways across the plateau.[ A large open-cast coalmines continues to operate a kilometer to the north of the cairn.
The scarp winds its way east-west between ]Rhigos
Rhigos () is a small village on the saddle of higher ground between the Vale of Neath and the Cynon Valley. It was part of the old Neath Rural district Council under Glamorgan until 1974. The village then came under the jurisdiction of The Cynon ...
and Mynydd Resolven, and various Bronze Age cairns are strung out along its length.[ For example to the west are Craig-y-Pant and Garn Fach, and to the east, Twyn Canwyllyr, Craig-y-Bwlch and Rhondda Fach Cairns, all occupying similar locations on the scarp.
]
Access
There are no roads within 2 miles (3 km) of the cairn, the nearest being the A4061 across Hirwaun Common. The long-distance Coed Morgannwg Way runs east-west from there along the scarp, immediately past the cairn before turning south to Cwm Afon. Other tracks and paths and cycle paths within the woodland also provide easy access to the monument. National Route 47 of the National Cycle Network passes through the woodland to the south of Foel Chwern.
References
See also
* List of Scheduled Monuments in Neath Port Talbot
{{European megaliths
Bronze Age sites in Wales
Archaeological sites in Neath Port Talbot