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Carneddau round cairns is a prehistoric round cairn located in Wales and protected by Cadw under reference RD235. Round cairns of this type were constructed during the Bronze Age as burial monuments, typically containing cremated remains within stone chambers or cists. The cairn consists of stones heaped over a central burial deposit, often surrounded by a kerb of larger stones to define its perimeter.
The site sits upon Ordovician bedrock composed of extrusive rocks, specifically mafic tuff formed during the volcanic activity of the Ordovician period over 440 million years ago. This ancient geological foundation of dark volcanic stone contrasts sharply with the lighter stones gathered to construct the cairn itself, which Bronze Age communities transported from the surrounding landscape.
The Carneddau round cairns demonstrates the enduring relationship between prehistoric communities and their upland Welsh environment. The choice to locate burial monuments in these elevated areas reflects both the ritual significance of high ground and the practical availability of suitable stone for cairn construction. Such monuments remain important archaeological records of Bronze Age burial practices and settlement patterns across the Welsh landscape.
Carneddau round cairns is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference RD235. View the official record →
Carneddau round cairns is a prehistoric round cairn located in Wales and protected by Cadw under reference RD235.
Carneddau round cairns dates from the prehistoric period, and is classified as a round cairn. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Carneddau round cairns is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Cadw — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in Wales. The official designation reference is RD235.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Builth Castle (3.9 km), Aberedw Hill Deserted Rural Settlement (4.9 km), Caer Beris (5 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Carneddau round cairns's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Carneddau round cairns stands on Unnamed Extrusive Rocks, Ordovician, bedrock that formed in the Ordovician. The rock here is mafic tuff.