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

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Uplands Initiative – Nant y Moch & Pumlimon Fawr / <strong>Plynlimon</strong> 2004This area is predominantly occupied however by the remains of the former post medieval <strong>Plynlimon</strong> LeadMine (NPRN: 33896) This lead mine hadn‘t been investigated to a recording level fully before other thanD. Bicks accounts and photographs of the mine. Recorded were three wheel pits, several shafts and spoilheaps, reservoirs and the remnants of a large dam and sluice crossing the Afon Tarennig, along with anetwork of leats running from the area of the former Nant Nod Mine (NPRN: 309806). The Nant Nod mineis in a very poor state of condition as modern farm building have destroyed much of the sites and features.An unusual feature discovered on the top of Foel Wyddon was a line of 5 stones protruding from theground by approx. 10cm (NPRN: 282442). These were only small, each approx. 20cm irregular in size.There purpose is unknown.Area 12. Craig y MarchThe most significant sites recorded in this area was the remains of Hengwm Annedd farmstead (NPRN:282904). This is one of the lluest houses mentioned by Lewis Morris in 1744. At the time of the field visitthe farmstead was very ruinous and unroofed with most of the walls now in a complete state of collapse.The best preserved part of the main farmstead is the house at the far west end, which appears to havepossible replaced an earlier house that once faced south-east looking up at Lluest y Graig. This farmsteadaccording to the tithe schedule was belonged to the Pryse family in 1845. Its location is very aestheticallyplaced with high cliffs and waterfalls at the far south end.Along the upper slopes of Lluest y Graig the field survey noted the existence of early mining activity in thenorth facing slopes, within areas of white quartz, indicative of lead mine prospecting (NPRN: 282318). Asimilar area was also located along the upper slopes of Craig y March (NPRN: 282319). This area verylikely also has an association with three large platform areas found in the same area (NPRN: 282320 /282323 / 282321).Area 13. Llechwedd HirgoedVery little was found on the summit and the slopes of this hill other than the scant remains of post medievallead mining in the form of Hirgoed Ddu lead mine (NPRN: 284177) and a few further platform andquarrying features toward Eisteddfa Gurig (NPRN: 282398 / 282397).An area of peat-cutting was also noted (NPRN: 284032). With regards the farmsteads of Pont Rhydgaledand Eisteddfa Gurig, both of these are now renovated modern dwellings.Area 14. Esgair y MaenThe most significant site located in this area is that of the deserted rural settlement of Blaen Cyff (NPRN:282395). This site doesn‘t seem to have been noted before on any maps, not even on Lewis Morris‘s mapnor text, implying that this site likely pre-dates 1744. This is extremely likely considering the present stateof the settlement. The ground plan of the settlement is still fairly well preserved. It consists of a series ofstructures with walls now grass covered. Division between the buildings is fairly evident. A walkwayappears to have linked two areas of the farmstead together, possibly to long huts other than one long hutwith accompanying house and byre. Just north of the main farmstead is the remains of an oval enclosure,located unusually on a fairly steep slope and cut by a stream (NPRN: 282404). In the area just north of thefarmstead two small ring enclosures were discovered, which may be early animal pens, possibly medieval.These are located just over a rocky ridge above the main farm complex. (NPRN: 282396 / 282408).Enclosing the whole of the settlement site at the north-east end is a high enclosure boundary bank, approx.1m in height x 1.5m in width (NPRN: 282403).North of ‗Blaen Cyff‘ DRS, on the upper east facing slope of Pen Lluest-y-carn, the field survey recordedan area of deep peat, some 4m in depth in places. This area was given a data point for future environmentalsampling (NPRN: 282409). From this point looking down the valley eastwards, from the source of the riverWye, the field visit recorded the existence of a dam and sluice associated with the former Blaen Wye andNant Iago Lead Mines (NPRN: 284190). This mine is now almost completely destroyed with very littleremains apart from a few shafts and a wheelpit (NPRN: 284187).71CAP Report No: 355
Uplands Initiative – Nant y Moch & Pumlimon Fawr / <strong>Plynlimon</strong> 2004Area 15. Bryn DaithThis area is best characterised by the remains of the former Nant Iago Lead Mine (NPRN: 34004). Theremains here are fairly extensive and in places fairly well preserved. Grey and white Calcite covers much ofthe dressing floor as well as near the base of the Crusher. As well as the remains of structures, including thecrusher house, wheelpit, ore bins and settling pits, this mine still holds much of its mechanics in place,especially winding gears above a few of the shafts. Also, in the area of Nant Iago north, parts of the woodenlaunder are still in place.Further south from Nant Iago, much of the landscape here has been altered by the insertion of a multitude oftrackways, put in by the ‗Sweet Lamb Motor Sport Complex‘, however off the tracks, there are still a fewsites still preserved. In the area of Bryn Daith the field survey discovered the remains of a small burialcairn, some 3m in diameter x 0.30m high. This cairn was made up of white quartz stone (NPRN: 282475).A further cairn (NPRN: 284251), recorded by CPAT in their ‗Y Foel Windfarm Assessment‘ in 1991 wasnot located. This cairn may have been destroyed by the insertion of new trackways.Area 16. Y FoelThe area of ‗Y Foel‘ is best characterised by the remains of the former Wye Valley and West Wye ValleyLead Mines. Very little remains of both of these mines, especially that of the Wye Valley Lead Mine. Allthat remains today of the Wye Valley Lead Mine is shafts, sluices and reservoirs. The rest of the minesfeatures have since been destroyed. Eventhough very little remains of the West Wye Valley Lead Mine,there are still remnants however of a large building with evidence for two large furnaces (NPRN: 282482).The ground plan of this building indicates that it was formerly approx. 20m in length x 8m wide. A verydeep vertical shaft, approx. 10m in diameter, is also plainly visible just north of this building and ispresently used for dumping broken car parts (NPRN: 282481).Further south from this mine the field survey noted on the east facing slope of the hill known as ‗Y Drum‘ aseries of cultivation ridges running E-W. (NPRN: 282868).The farmstead of Cefn Brwyn (NPRN: 282652) in this area is now in complete ruin with very littleremaining, with much of the building stone having been removed.8 CONCLUSIONS & RECOMMENDATIONSThe uplands survey of the Nant y Moch and Pumlimon Fawr landscape just north of Ponterwyd inCardiganshire and Montgomeryshire generated 1216 site records. Of this number 67 were already recordedon the RCAHMW database. A further 261 sites and features were recorded on the D.A.T county Sites andMonuments database, and a further 99 sites and features were recorded on the C.P.A.T county Sites andMonuments database. This gives a total number of 856 new sites and features in this area.The largest category of site types recorded were banks, of which 68 were recorded. These werepredominantly grass covered field banks and enclosure banks. The second largest category was that ofenclosures, 60 in total. This number includes both potential prehistoric, medieval and post medievalenclosures. This was followed by the remains of former lead mine leats of which there were 59 in total. Themajority of these leats link up Bryn Afr lead mine with Llywernog lead mine and Nant Iago with West WyeValley(For further details see Summary Tables Appendix IV).In terms of site location by contour heights, between 250m – 300m, site types varied considerably fromenclosures, round barrows through to lead mines and leats. The same is true of contour heights between300m – 350m, however at about the 350m height peat cutting seems to appear regularly. Between thecontour interval of 350m – 400m sites recorded were again very varied. Between 400m – 550m sitesrecorded were predominantly lead mine related. Between 680m – 753m sites recorded were predominantlyboundary stones, stone piles, marker cairns and burial cairns on the higher summits (For further details seeSummary Tables Appendix IV).71CAP Report No: 355
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