Carn Pentyle-Hir & Adjacent Round Cairn

Carn Pentyle-Hir stands on open moorland above the Cynon valley in Rhondda Cynon Taf. It is a round cairn built late in the Stone Age and early in the Bronze Age. The mound of stones was probably used in burial rites and religious ceremonies. Cadw recognises the site and lists it as SAM GM402. Other monuments nearby include chambered tombs, hillforts and standing stones. The cairn measures about twenty metres across and rises just over a metre above the ground. Its builders also raised burial chambers and stone circles in the same district. These people left no written records, so their exact beliefs remain unknown. Yet the scale of the work shows how important these communal gatherings were. Visitors reach the cairn by following a farm track from Aberdâr. The path crosses rough grassland where sheep graze. From the top of the mound there are wide views over the valley and the surrounding hills. The site is quiet, with only the wind and distant farm noises to be heard.