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

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Uplands Initiative – Nant y Moch & Pumlimon Fawr / <strong>Plynlimon</strong> 2004long; they were surrounded by a large stone ring. A biconical grooved lugged food vessel of Irishtype was associated with the burial It is 6.7ins high, 8.2 ins at its widest, and preserved in theNational Museum of Wales, Cardiff. Tumulus on Disgwylfa Fawr summit, at 1660 feet above OD.Now a turf covered mound, about 6feet high and 70 feet in diameter, apparently composed mainlyof fine, gravelly soil, though a few stones are visible. It has been opened by a trench, refilled, fromthe south. Condition good. Examined by A.H.A.Hogg, 4/6/65. A turf-covered round barrow asdescribed above, 21.0m in diameter, 2.5m in height. There is a slight <strong>central</strong> depression, otherwisethe feature is in good condition. No visible remains of a ditch. Cairn on unenclosed moorland. Thelarge, turf-covered barrow is still as described, with a <strong>central</strong> hollow. A small stone summit cairn ofpresumably recent date has been built on the W edge of the barrow. A quite well worn track fromthe west branches near the barrow and passes part on each side. There are commanding views in alldirections (as far as I could tell in the mist!)‖(CADW listing 1988 - Cd 30). (For a more in depthdescription of the findings see the article in Antiquity Journal 1939; BBCS 1938)With regards known standing stones in the area there are surprisingly few, only 7 in total. There is astanding pair (NPRN: 301687), locally known as the ‗Bwlch a‘r Llo‘ or ‗Cow and Calf‘, at the far west endof the survey area near Esgair Gorlan (Area 5). The largest stone is approx. 2m in height x 1.25m girth. Thesmaller stone is approx. 4m further east, and is approx. 1.25m in height x 1.25m in girth. There are nomarkings evident on either of these stones. The landscape here is tall grass and marsh land. A furtherstanding, similar in form to this pair, is also located 100m to the west, although this stone is outside of thesurvey area. However approx. 800m to the east is a small white quartz boulder (Area 4) which has beendescribed in the past as being a standing stone (NPRN: 282137). A further pair of standing stones (NPRN:284077), are to be found on the hill above the Llywernog Lead Mine museum (Area 6). This stone pair areeach approx. 0.50m high x 0.50m wide. They are set approx. 3m apart and orientated NW-SE. They arelocated on a rising slope only approx. 20m from a ponded area. In the area known as Garn Lwyd, in theritual landscape close to Hirnant (Area 7), is a small standing stone at the base of a rock outcrop (NPRN:303683). This standing stone is reportedly approx. 1.10m high with a girth of approx. 3 ft. However, at thetime of the field visit a standing stone only approx. 0.60m high with a girth of approx. 0.30m was observedat the given location. The last standing stone in the area is located in the area of ‗Fainc Ddu‘ (Area 8)known in the archive records as Pen Cor-maen standing stone (NPRN: 303680). Although marked on themodern Ordnance Survey map at the time of the field visit no standing stone was found at the givenlocation. It is presumed that this stone has either been moved or destroyed or else the grid reference given iswrong.Other than these few Bronze Age sites the only other evidence for Bronze Age activity is in the form offind-spots. These include a bronze age socket-looped spearhead found in the 1930s (NPRN: 284255) foundon the south-west upper slope of Pumlimon Fawr, and a further bronze age object, for which there is noinformation readily available within the archive, found close to the summit of Pen Pumlimon Arwystli(NPRN: 284072). It is very likely that both of these finds were originally found within the cairns atop bothof these summits and then later discarded.With regards the Iron Age period, there are two known Iron Age sites within the survey area, both of theseare Iron Age hill fort remains. The first of these is located on top of the small rocky hill known as ‗Dinas‘ or‗Fort‘ (NPRN: 303697). The following description of Dinas hillfort has been extracted from the CadwScheduled Monument listing description;―The top of an isolated hill reaching 1262 feet above sea level is crowned by an enclosure. Theelongated oval is determined by the ground, which falls precipitously with sheer rock outcropsalong the longer sides. The enclosure appears to be stone built with material from an inner spoilditch which can be traced irregularly on all sides. There is no apparent ditch. The entrance, a simplegap, is on the north side. Open moor. A small early Iron Age univallate hill fort, the bank havingbeen formed from the large internal quarry ditch; there is no outer ditch. There is one hut platformnear the centre of the enclosure and possibly three others. One exists on the hillside 450 yards tothe south (SN 78 SW 21). 'Dinas', an IA univallate hilltop settlement or fort, at 1250 feet above sealevel,occupying the summit of an isolated hill, with very steep natural slopes on all but the southside. The work measures internally, 112.0m north-south, by 54.0m transversely. The rampartaverages 6.0m in width, and 0.5m in height internally, but is up to 2.0m high externally. Precipitous71CAP Report No: 355
Uplands Initiative – Nant y Moch & Pumlimon Fawr / <strong>Plynlimon</strong> 2004scree slopes and natural rock outcrops are incorporated into the defences on the east and west sides.A simple cut original entrance is in the south end of the work. A hut site near the centre is 5.0m indiameter. North of it is a 7.0m stretch of bank with a ditch on the lower, north side, possibly theremains of an internal division. 50.0m to the southeast is the possible site of another hut. Quarryditches exist around the north and south ends of the enclosure. The site is under moorland pasture,and is in good condition. Oval shaped hillfort on summit of rocky hill,with steep slopes to W andE, and a saddle of gently sloping ground to N and S. The whole is on unenclosed rough moorland,used for sheep grazing. Probably never cultivated, certainly not in recent years. The defences alongthe steep longer E and W sides are insignificant, but on the short N and S sides, there is a singlebank 2m high internally, 5m high externally. The entrance seems to be on the N side, and is nowused for occasional vehicular access. There are two slight tracks elsewhere through the rampartsmade by sheep, neither have erosion problems. Grass. Possibly disturbed on S side - there are anumber of irregularities within the bank here. It is interesting to note in the foregoing descriptionsthat Sian Rees would put the main entrance on the N, while OS would have it on the S; their plandoes not even show a break on the N. In fact, there are clear breaks which would make plausibleentrances at both ends, that on the S being accompanied by a gap in the internal quarry ditch. Thequarry ditch on the N is rather less clear, being more in the nature of a series of stepped hollows tothe E of the entrance. There are numerous possible positions for huts, especially towards the northand south ends; the quarry ditch may also have afforded a sheltered location. The hill is humped inthe middle, so that the two ends are not visible from each other. The hut position marked by OS inthe external scree does not look very convincing. The banks are most pronounced at the south end,where I certainly would not describe them as irregular; those on the north seem moreuneven…………..The gentlest approach is from the S, although that from the N is not too steepeither. There is a small sheep scrape on the W side of the S entrance, not serious There are rushesin and just outside the entrance, and also in the eastern quarry ditch; otherwise the site is coveredwith short unimproved grass. The cross-bank marked by OS just to the north of the crest of the hillinside the enclosure is not especially high, although clearly visible. It is about 4.5m wide and about12m long, although it is hard to be precise because it merges with the rock outcrop on the W andpeters out on the E. If this bank defines an inner and outer enclosure, there does not seem to-be ananswering stretch to the E where one might have been expected, this could always have been filledby fencing. The mound might also be seen as a later boundary (although it does not seem toconnect with any line outside the enclosure) or perhaps a pillow mound, although it seems veryremote for this‖ (CADW listing 1988 – Cd55).The other Iron Age hillfort (NPRN: 282931) remains are located toward the base of Disgwylfa Fach (Area4), approx. 800m north-north-west of Dinas. The location and remains of this fort are not nearly asimpressive as that of Dinas. The Disgwylfa Fach fort is a tri-vallate hillfort sitting atop a steep-sided ridgeand is defended on its north side by three banks. A single bank defends the west, south and part of the eastsides: a scarp forms the edge on the remainder of the east side. There is one possible hut circle (NPRN282932) inside the fort.At the western base of Dinas are the remains of a former enclosed settlement, however this is thought to bemedieval in date.Although there are no sites or features within the survey area pertaining to the Roman Period, the remainsof a Roman fort, that of ‗Cae Gaer‘, is to be found just south-west of Pont Rhydgaled in the lower valleybelow Llechwedd Hirgoed (Area 13)(NGR: SN 82235 8189). It is thought that this fort was probablyabandoned by A.D. 80 (BURNHAM 1995).Before mention of sites and features within the survey area of the Medieval period, it is worth noting at thispoint the inclusion of ‗Pumlimon‘ within the Mabinogion in the ‗Story of Culhwch and Olwen‘, one of theearliest Welsh Arthurian tales. As part of Culhwch‘s quest for his bride, his followers happen to findthemselves atop <strong>Plynlimon</strong> Mountain. Within the story it says,―As Cei and Bedwyr were sitting on top of Pumlumon on Carn Gwylathyr, in the highest wind inthe world, they looked about them and they could see a great smoke towards the south, far off fromthem, and not blowing across with the wind. And then Cei said, 'By the hand of my friend, see71CAP Report No: 355
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Plynlimon (central) - Royal Commission on the Ancient and ...

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