Mynydd Llangynidr, Brecknockshire - Royal Commission on the ...

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<strong>Mynydd</strong> <strong>Llangynidr</strong> Upland Survey UIP081 Report Version: Final Produced for RCAHMW Tracks 5.8 The vast majority of the tracks found were fairly modern and provided access to the quarries. Other tracks were caused by modern agricultural activity and walkers’ access to local attractions such as the Chartist’s Cave at the centre of <strong>Mynydd</strong> <strong>Llangynidr</strong>. These were not recorded as they were usually too modern to warrant a specific record. Many tracks are heavily obscured by vegetation and there were a variety of forms. Some were revetted with stone walling either downslope or upslope, some were simple ledges cut into the hillside or embanked upon it, and many were hollow ways. Of the latter many were faint depressions, but some were impressive cuttings as at SO 19197 24939, where the trackway is roughly 2 metres deep and 3 metres wide at the top of the hollow. A few tracks, particularly along the tops of the ridges, are still used by walkers due to the views, and for the same reason may date back thousands of years. These tracks are usually simple worn paths ranging for kilometres and are frequently marked with cairns. Sheepfolds 5.9 Sheepfolds were scattered throughout the area, varying markedly in size and shape. A complex one including a 50 metre long central cell with four other cells inside was located at SO 09667 011984. The amount and quality of construction suggests it was once an element of a centralised system of sheep management with perhaps several owners sharing the resource. Recreational and clearance cairns 5.10 Most of the cairns recorded were associated with trackways, and probably date to the post medieval period. Several of the summits in the area had piles of stones made by modern day walkers. Recreational cairns were also found within defunct quarries where there was plentiful waste material and around collapsed walls. The distribution of recreational cairns therefore correlates with the distribution of natural or reusable material. The only clearance cairns found during the survey were particularly large and near the improved fields in the south-western corner of the study area, on the edge of Pontsticill reservoir. These clearance cairns probably date to between the post-medieval period to modern day and may have been created mechanically. The CPAT HER had many of these clearance cairns attributed to prehistoric activity in the area of Waun Rydd valley. Shooting butts 5.11 Shooting butts were most commonly found on the eastern side of <strong>Mynydd</strong> <strong>Llangynidr</strong>, as there is copious amounts of outcropping rock out of which to construct the butts. These varied in form between simple hollows in the scree slopes, single curved walls and complete circles. They face all directions, but usually with a good view of the heath. The correlation of air photo transcriptions to sites 5.12 Elements that correlated well were quarries, some structures and most of the field boundaries, some of these also correlating with field boundaries noted on 1st edition OS mapping. The record was augmented by construction details and identification of further structural units. More ephemeral features like possible cultivation or larger enclosures proved difficult to confirm on the ground. Page 13 \\Harappa\projects\UIP081 <strong>Mynydd</strong> <strong>Llangynidr</strong>\Reporting\Draft Final\AP UIP081 <strong>Mynydd</strong> <strong>Llangynidr</strong> report (Draft Final).doc Copyright ArchaeoPhysica Ltd. 10/02/2009
<strong>Mynydd</strong> <strong>Llangynidr</strong> Upland Survey UIP081 Report Version: Final Produced for RCAHMW 6 Narrative summary and upland research themes Prehistoric 6.1 The earliest archaeological evidence in the survey area is attributed to the Bronze Age. There were no sites recorded on the HER or found during the survey that related to the Mesolithic or the Neolithic period. 6.2 The picture becomes a little clearer for the Bronze Age. There are 97 records for this period, with possibly a further seventeen. These sites include barrows, cairns, hut circles, enclosures and field boundaries. This is in contrast to the Iron Age, to which only six are attributed. Upland prehistoric settlement from the Mesolithic period onwards, only visible through artefact scatters around upland lakes 6.3 No upland lakes were found in the survey area, but there are three post-medieval or modern reservoirs. No artefact scatters were recorded during the survey. The identification of upland settlement remains from periods where they are poorly represented, particularly the Bronze Age and Early Medieval periods 6.4 There is good potential for prehistoric settlement within the area covered by this survey project as generally speaking the topography is not rugged and there is plenty of outcropping rock with which to build structures without the need to quarry into the bedrock. There were very few slopes in the area which were too steep or hazardous to negate settlement. Possible hut circles and a circular enclosure were found on the southern slope of Waun Rydd valley, and prehistoric cairns were found on both. Some of the sites seem to have been reused in the postmedieval period to create sheepfolds and further enclosures, something that is prevalent in these hills. Prehistoric ritual landscapes and their relationships with contemporary settlement 6.5 The survey recorded a great number of cairns, but in many cases it was not possible to determine their date for certain. The definite prehistoric cairns were found throughout the survey area, including the summits of <strong>Mynydd</strong> <strong>Llangynidr</strong>, Carn Caws and Clo Cadno and on the top of Cefn yr Ystrad. Generally it does not seem that there is a particular correlation between the siting of these cairns and the contemporary settlements. Cairns were generally on the summits of the mountains, with a good view of the cairns on the uplands surrounding the site. Settlements were located mostly in the sheltered valley areas with a good supply of water and more fertile land. An exception could be the cairn at SO 12986 10787, which is located just north of a widespread prehistoric settlement on the Waun Rydd valley. It has a number of small cairns on its west side overlooking the Pontsticill reservoir and on its east side close to a well worn trackway orientated northeast - southwest down the valley. The settlement appears to include several phases of occupation, and it is not certain that the cairn is prehistoric. 6.6 The impression overall is that prehistoric settlement must have been widespread but lightweight as there are few significant traces of field systems or settlement. It is possible that the medieval and post medieval farmsteads occupied the same sites for purely geographical reasons in which case only geophysical survey or excavation could recover traces of prehistoric predecessors. Medieval 6.7 There are thirty records for the medieval period. This is perhaps somewhat lower than it should be, as it is frequently difficult to date sheepfolds, quarries and banks and it seems more conservative to offer a post-medieval or unknown date. The sites that have been recorded as medieval include platforms, settlements and field boundaries. Page 14 \\Harappa\projects\UIP081 <strong>Mynydd</strong> <strong>Llangynidr</strong>\Reporting\Draft Final\AP UIP081 <strong>Mynydd</strong> <strong>Llangynidr</strong> report (Draft Final).doc Copyright ArchaeoPhysica Ltd. 10/02/2009
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Mynydd Llangynidr, Brecknockshire - Royal Commission on the ...

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