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Lying to the east of the reasonably substantial cairn upon the (eastern) summit of Esgair Golan (SN72848261), this is a rather more modest monument, one of a possible trio surmounting this little ridge. Then again, perhaps the multiplicity hints at natural features?
Whatever the truth, this is well worth including in a circular walk from the roadside beneath - and featuring - the cairn overlooking the Nant Geifaes at SN73188331.
Coflein reckons:
"Remains of former cairn approx. 4m in diameter x 0.60m high. Consists of piled stone now grass and turf covered. Remains of cist visible formed by 3 slabs and 1 upright slab" [R.S. Jones, Cambrian Archaeological Projects, 2004].
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Historic England [List Entry Number: 1012222] states that this obscure site represents a 'saucer barrow'... so very rare.
I struggled to find this one - and, to be fair, I cannot 100% categorically claim I did - since the whole site was subsumed in industrial strength, impenetrable brambles. Still, I'm pretty sure... and no afternoon spent walking around in sunny woodland listening to birdsong can ever be wasted, right?
Historic England has this to say:
"The monument includes a saucer barrow which comprises a low central mound with an encircling ditch which is in turn surrounded by a low bank of earth. The central mound measures 18m in diameter and stands to 0.7m above the level of the surrounding ground at its summit. The ditch that defines the mound measures some 4m across and drops to only 0.3m below the ground level, having been largely infilled by erosion from the mound and the outer bank. It was earth from this ditch which was used to build both the central low mound and the surrounding bank. Beyond the ditch is the outer bank, 2m across and only 0.2m high. The overall diameter of the monument is therefore some 30m."
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This, a companion cairn to Garn Wen engulfed in trees upon the nearby hilltop, is a nearly destroyed - but not quite - monument set in rich pasture beside Tanybryn-Isaf farm, located in the Pumlumon foothills to the east of Aberystwyth. The field nowadays is home to nowt but inquisitive bovines turbocharged on the luxurious grass. No, make that REALLY curious cows. Tell me about it...
So, OK, only the well-informed will appreciate what is still here, the monument apparently only discovered by the wondrous Mr Driver pootling about in his plane back in 2001. As a TMA-er, that'll now include you, then.
It's worth combining with a visit to nearby Garn Wen, if only for fine views of neighbouring hillfort Pen-y-Castell (SN689848) across the cwm.
Coflein reckons:
"A Bronze Age round barrow, surviving as a low mound c.11m diameter, with a central hole showing a past episode of digging. The barrow lies alongside and to the south of the earthworks of an old trackway, climbing the hillside from Clawdd Melyn... Discovered during RCAHMW winter aerial reconnaissance in 2001 and recorded on subsequent flights. [T. Driver, RCAHMW, 27th Jan 2011]"
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OK, not a lot left... but more than enough, methinks
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Searching - unsuccessfully, I might add - for the cairn cited by GAT as existing at SH65141153, I decided to mask my disappointment (and then some!) by carrying on to revisit the great Twll yr Ogof. Rude not to.
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Hi, I'm Robert ... with a passion for attempting to understand the lives of the pioneering prehistoric inhabitants of these British Isles, seeking out the remains they left behind in order to ask myself "why here ... why did it matter so... why such commitment?".. Needless to say, I'm still pondering such intangibles. Just as an empty house appears to retain echoes of past humanity... so does the stone circle, the chambered cairn, the long barrow and the mountain-top funerary cairn. Visiting them, I think, helps engender a certain 'connection' with this land of ours, with ourselves - our past, our present and our future; a reference point for those of us perhaps struggling to make sense of this so-called 'computer world' Kraftwerk warned us was a'coming in 1981.... danke, mein herren. And thanks also to those who picked up their gauntlet and ran with it.
Should my posts provide inspiration for others to venture into the Great Outdoors, please bear in mind the hills and mountains of these Isles are unpredictable, potentially dangerous places. Ensure you have map/compass/waterproofs... and learn how to use them. It could save your life. Weather conditions can change bewilderingly quickly - even in high summer - so don't get caught out. Please engage with landowners wherever possible... being a cartoon 'class warrior' might be jolly good fun for the narcissistic 'rebel'... but not for those who may choose to follow.
Joni Mitchell - 'Don't it always seem to go; That you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone?'
George Orwell - 'The essence of being human is that one does not seek perfection.'
Martin Gore - 'Like a pawn
On the eternal board
Who’s never quite sure
What he’s moved towards
I walk blindly on'...
Truman Capote - 'Failure is the condiment that gives success its flavour.'
Oscar Wilde - 'The true mystery of the world is the visible, not the invisible.'
John Lydon - 'It is a reward to be chastised by the ignorant.'
Winston Churchill - '“The farther backward you can look, the farther forward you are likely to see.” [Perhaps one day people may finally grasp the reality that, for all his many faults, Churchill is the reason we are currently able to proffer personal views today that are not dictated by a totalitarian state.]
Charles Bukowski - “The problem with the world is that the intelligent people are full of doubts, while the stupid ones are full of confidence.”
Ultravox - 'Taking shelter by the standing stones
Miles from all that moves....'
Catch site videos from the Citizen Cairn at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFk6mRD0QCGTnUXRBlSJ44w
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