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Haylie House is a Neolithic chambered cairn situated in Ayrshire, Scotland. Built during the fourth millennium BCE, it represents one of the communal burial monuments characteristic of early farming communities in western Scotland. The cairn was constructed from stone quarried locally from the underlying Stratheden Group bedrock, a Late Devonian formation of interbedded sandstone and conglomerate that provided substantial building material. The monument's internal chamber would have served as a repository for the cremated or inhumed remains of the dead, reflecting ritual practices central to Neolithic society.
The physical setting of Haylie House illustrates how Neolithic communities adapted their construction methods to local geology. The mixed composition of sandstone and conglomerate available on the Ayrshire landscape determined both the character and durability of the stone used in the monument's fabric. Such chambered cairns functioned as territorial markers and gathering points for the scattered farming populations of the period.
Haylie House is protected as a scheduled monument under Historic Environment Scotland's designation SM2482, ensuring the preservation of this important archaeological resource. The site remains a tangible record of Neolithic burial practice and settlement patterns in southwest Scotland, contributing to understanding of early agricultural societies in the region.
Haylie House, chambered cairn is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM2482. View the official record →
Haylie House is a Neolithic chambered cairn situated in Ayrshire, Scotland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM2482.
Haylie House, chambered cairn dates from the neolithic period, and is classified as a chambered cairn. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Haylie House, chambered cairn is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Historic Environment Scotland — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in Scotland. The official designation reference is SM2482.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Castle Hill, fort (0.6 km), Fairlie Castle (3.7 km), Knock,fort (4.3 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Haylie House, chambered 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.
Haylie House, chambered cairn stands on Stratheden Group, bedrock that formed in the Late Devonian. The rock here is sandstone and conglomerate, interbedded.