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Castle Bank ring cairn is a prehistoric ring cairn located in Wales and protected by Cadw under reference RD228. Ring cairns of this type typically date to the Bronze Age and consist of a circular bank of stones surrounding an open or partially infilled central space, distinguishing them from solid burial cairns. The monument sits on bedrock formed from a mafic igneous intrusion of Ordovician to Silurian age, geological foundations that have supported human activity in this landscape for millennia.
The igneous bedrock beneath Castle Bank, composed of dense mafic rock formed during the Silurian period, would have provided a stable base for the monument's construction. The builders selected stone from their immediate environment, working with the natural geology of the hillside to create a durable ceremonial or funerary structure. This choice of location, combining accessible stone resources with prominent topography, reflects the practical and symbolic considerations that guided Bronze Age communities in their placement of such monuments.
Ring cairns served important functions in prehistoric society, likely marking burial sites, territorial boundaries or ritual spaces. Castle Bank's survival into the modern period, despite centuries of weathering and land use change, testifies to the substantial nature of its construction. The monument remains a significant record of Bronze Age activity and settlement patterns in the Welsh landscape.
Castle Bank ring cairn is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference RD228. View the official record →
Castle Bank ring cairn is a prehistoric ring cairn located in Wales and protected by Cadw under reference RD228.
Castle Bank ring cairn dates from the prehistoric period, and is classified as a ring cairn. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Castle Bank ring cairn 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 RD228.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Aberedw Hill Deserted Rural Settlement (5.4 km), Aberedw Hill Round Barrows (5.7 km), Llwyn-y-wrach standing stone (6.1 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Castle Bank ring cairn'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.
Castle Bank ring cairn stands on Unnamed Igneous Intrusion, Ordovician To Silurian, bedrock that formed in the Silurian. The rock here is mafic igneous-rock.