About the Ancient Sites Project
How the prehistoric sites of the Elan Valley are being recorded.
About the Elan Valley Ancient Sites Project
This project explores and records the prehistoric landscape of the Elan Valley, including cairns, standing stones, stone circles, stone rows, cists and settlement remains across one of the most remarkable upland archaeological landscapes in Mid Wales.
Map of the Elan Valley
This map shows the wider area covered by the site pages and the ancient landscapes recorded across the Elan Valley.
Sites in the database
The database continues to expand as more sites are visited, photographed and added to the project.
The Project
The Elan Valley is best known for its dramatic reservoirs and upland scenery, but it is also rich in prehistoric archaeology. Across the hills and moorland are burial cairns, standing stones, stone rows, cists, hut circles and other ancient remains.
This website brings together photographs, descriptions, map references and area guides to help document these sites and make them easier to explore. Some monuments are well known, while others are remote, overlooked or only rarely visited.
The aim is to build a clear and growing record of the ancient landscape of the Elan Valley and the surrounding hills near Rhayader.
Bronze Age Timeline
A simple guide to the broad prehistoric periods reflected in the landscapes and monuments of the Elan Valley.
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c. 3000 BC – 2500 BCLate Neolithic communities were already shaping the upland landscape, with ritual monuments and the early use of high ground.
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c. 2500 BC – 2200 BCThe beginning of the Bronze Age saw new burial traditions, early metalworking and the continued importance of ceremonial places.
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c. 2200 BC – 1600 BCCairns, cists and standing stones became established features of the landscape, marking burial places, memorial sites and prominent routes.
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c. 1600 BC – 1200 BCSettlement activity expanded, with more evidence for hut circles, enclosure sites and continued use of upland ground.
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c. 1200 BC – 800 BCLater Bronze Age communities continued to use and adapt the landscape, leaving behind cairns, stone features and traces of occupation on exposed high ground.
Typical Monuments of the Elan Valley
A small gallery showing some of the monument types found across the site.
Standing Stones
Single stones or stone settings placed in prominent positions across the landscape.
Cairns
Stone-built burial and ritual monuments, often found on hilltops and ridges.
Stone Circles
Ceremonial settings of stones, often linked to Bronze Age ritual activity.
Stone Rows
Aligned stones that may have marked ceremonial routes, places or boundaries.
Latest Sites Added
A featured selection of recently added or recently updated site pages.
Esgair Hafod Area
A growing collection of cairns and cists south of Rhiwnant Farm.
View Page
Carn Garnfallt Sites
Cairns and related monuments south east of Elan Village.
View Page
Gro Hill Area
An extensive cairn landscape close to Caban Coch and Nant y Gro.
View PageVisiting Sites
Many of the monuments recorded on this website are in remote upland locations. Access can involve rough ground, steep slopes, boggy areas and rapidly changing weather.
Please take care when visiting, respect private land and local access guidance, and avoid disturbing any archaeological remains. These places have survived for thousands of years, and preserving them matters.
Always leave monuments as you find them and help protect the historic landscape of the Elan Valley.
Explore the Elan Valley on the map
Area overview — this page does not include a verified grid reference, so no exact location is marked.
Zoom and drag to explore. Ordnance Survey Leisure mapping is used when a site-restricted OS key has been configured; otherwise OpenStreetMap is displayed.