Plynlimon (central) - Royal Commission on the Ancient and ...

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Uplands Initiative - Nant y Moch & Pumlimon Fawr / <strong>Plynlimon</strong> 2004The landscape surrounding Pumlimon Fawr, particularly that to the west, houses the remains of a varietyof different periods, but none so extensively as that of the Bronze Age. Archaeology of the Neolithicperiod in this area is very slim, in the form of a handful of Neolithic arrowheads found below area ofweathered away peat in 1968 by school children during a school trip. These Artefacts were likely formerlygrave goods from a cairn close by, perhaps one of the Pen Pumlimon Arwystli cairns to east (see BBCSarticle 1969). Prior to this season‘s field survey 68 Bronze Age data points are recorded within the surveyregion. This number comprises of burial cairns, standing stones, flint working sites and find spots. Of thistotal number, 13 sites are now submerged beneath the Nant y Moch Reservoir. The majority of thesesubmerged sites are burial cairns. A few of these however may be former clearance cairns (NPRN‘s284056 / 303675 / 284105 / 284119 / 284121 / 284126 / 284127 / 284128 / 284129 / 284130 / 284116 /284122 / 284123). Two of these cairns at Aber Camddwr were part excavated by A.H.A. Hogg in the1960s (NPRN‘S: 284056 and 104101). In summary, these two cairns consisted of a small platform cairncovering an elongated grave with socket for an upright post, but no grave goods, and a ring cairnenclosing stakes and other ritual features (HOGG 1977). The following text and figures have beenextracted and adapted from the article in the 1977 Archaeologia Cambrensis (For the complete article seeHogg, A.H.A 1977 Archaeologia Cambrensis Vol 126 p24-37).THE PLATFORM-CAIRN(Aber Camddwr II kerb cairn - NPRN: 104101)― This is the less interesting of the two, so it will be convenient to describe it first, although it wasin fact excavated in 1962, after work on the ring-cairn had been completed.The cairn stands within sight of the ring-cairn, on ground, which falls fairly uniformly eastwardstowards the river Camddwr. Its siting suggests that the builders were unconcerned with display,as there are small natural hillocks quite near which could have provided a much more effectivesetting. Before excavation its character was in doubt, as nothing was visible except a rather stonyarea and "the tops of the four upright stones, everything else being covered by peat. Clearance,however, showed that these stones formed part of a kerb around a nearly circular platform, 13 ft.north-west to south-east and 14 ft. north-east to south-west. Except for the four upright stonesalready mentioned, the kerb was built of blocks or slabs laid on their broader faces, in one or twocourses according to their thickness, and resting on the original surface of an inch or two ofhumus; the outer faces of the kerb-stones are shown thickened. The kerb had a fairly uniformheight of about 1 ft., and delimited a stony platform; the top of this was almost flat, apart fromtwo or three fairly large stones, which rested on its surface. Half this platform was removed, andit was found to consist basically of two layers of large stones. The interstices were filled withearth and small rubble, with a considerable admixture of broken quartz, in pieces ranging from 1 / 2in. to 2 or 3 in. cube. Removal of this make-up exposed an oval hollow, 7 ft. north-east to southwestby 3 ft. 6 in., and cut nearly a foot into the natural/subsoil (here a soft broken rock with aconsiderable proportion of clay). The sides of the hollow had been built up roughly with uprightor laid slabs (shown black in plan and section), leaving a clear space about 6 ft. by 2 ft., whichwas filled with .dark humus, containing some small stones and broken quartz. At the north-eastend of the pit the filling descended into a hole about 15 in. deeper and 5 in. in diameter. The onlyother feature beneath the platform was a shallow hollow on the south edge of the pit, about 1 ft. indiameter and containing black peaty soil. This is probably no more than the site of a stone, whichwas removed before the cairn was built.In the absence of any evidence for a date, little can be said about the cairn. The <strong>central</strong> pit wasalmost certainly a grave, the inhumed body having been dissolved, and it seems likely that thedeeper hole held an upright post; in any case these features show that the structure was not merelya stack-base. It would be possible to argue that the elongated pit corresponds to a 'boat of thedead', the post being its 'mast', but such an interpretation seems unnecessarily fanciful. It is betterto regard the post simply as a marker for the grave. The form of the grave is suited to burial at fulllength rather than contracted as was usual in prehistoric times, and this, together with its roughorientation, would be consistent with a post-Roman burial; but there is no Early Christiantradition associated with the area, and the local concentration of cairns probably of the BronzeAge suggests rather that this structure also should be attributed to that period.15CAP Report No: 355
Uplands Initiative - Nant y Moch & Pumlimon Fawr / <strong>Plynlimon</strong> 2004FIGURE 4. Aber Camddwr II Platform cairnfollowing 1960s excavation by A.H.A. Hogg (NPRN: 104101).FIGURE 5. Aber Camddwr ring cairn.Following excavation by A.H.A. Hogg in 1962 (NPRN: 284056)15CAP Report No: 355
Page 1 and 2: Uplands Initiative - Nant y Moch &
Page 13: Uplands Initiative - Nant y Moch &
Page 65 and 66:
Uplands Initiative - Nant y Moch &
Page 67 and 68:
Page 69 and 70:
Page 71 and 72:
APPENDIX 1: SITE ILLUSTRATIONSUplan
Page 73 and 74:
Page 75:
show all

Plynlimon (central) - Royal Commission on the Ancient and ...

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?