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Upper House round cairns is a prehistoric round cairn located in Wales and protected by Cadw under reference RD223. The monument sits upon bedrock of Llanvirn age, comprising mudstone, siltstone and sandstone deposits laid down during the Whiterock period of the Ordovician. This geology has shaped both the landscape and the materials available to the monument's builders.
Round cairns represent a widespread form of burial monument constructed during the Bronze Age across Britain. These mounds of stone, often containing central burial chambers or cremation deposits, served as permanent markers of the dead and demonstrate the significant labour investment Bronze Age communities devoted to commemorating their members.
The Upper House cairns form part of Wales's rich prehistoric heritage. Their survival to the present day, protected under Cadw's guardianship, allows modern visitors to appreciate the scale and construction methods employed by Bronze Age communities in this region. The monument provides evidence of settlement patterns and burial practices in prehistoric Wales, contributing to our understanding of ancient Welsh society.
Upper House round cairns is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference RD223. View the official record →
Upper House round cairns is a prehistoric round cairn located in Wales and protected by Cadw under reference RD223.
Upper House 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.
Upper House 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 RD223.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Cwmblaenerw House Platforms (6.2 km), Builth Castle (6.8 km), Aberedw Hill Deserted Rural Settlement (7 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Upper House 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.
Upper House round cairns stands on Llanvirn Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Whiterock. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.