Banc y Celyn, Brecknockshire - Royal Commission on the Ancient ...

Uplands Initiative – <strong>Banc</strong> y <strong>Celyn</strong> 20082.1.3 Summary of sites by PeriodAs Table 2 demonstrates, the largest group of sites categorised by Period fall into thePost Medieval category, which includes 131 sites, 30% of the total. Probable PostMedieval represents another 53 sites or 12%. A relatively high percentage of sites areascribed to the Modern period, 47 or 10.5%. These are chiefly related to landimprovement and stone clearance associated with bracken cutting on the common, butincludes unusual sites such as two Second World War bomb craters on Cefn Clawdd,caused when a German bomber dropped its bombs on its return journey (this story wasrelated by the farmer at Gelli Rhydd farm).Many of the sites recorded as being of Unknown period are thought likely to be of postmedieval or modern date, which indicates that a majority of the features encountered inthe study area are the result of activity during relatively recent times.The number of sites attributed to prehistoric periods is low, amounting to only 21 sites intotal, or just under 5%. All but two of these sites are Bronze Age cairns or barrows. Thetwo exceptions are the Bailey Bach Chambered Tomb (NPRN 275624), which isNeolithic in date, and the <strong>Banc</strong> y <strong>Celyn</strong> Stone Circle (NPRN 275623), which is attributedto the Bronze Age.No sites can be firmly ascribed a medieval date, but the category Medieval?:PostMedieval includes settlement sites, enclosures and areas of possible cultivation which arethought probable to be medieval or early post medieval in date. This group includes someof the more important sites in the area, such as the undated pillow mounds at Cwm Owenand the Cwmhindda Deserted Rural Settlement complex (NPRN 275640) north of Pant yLlyn, which is composed of several platforms and long huts and may credibly besuggested to be a medieval upland settlement, possibly associated with the hafodtradition.Plate 6: One of themore recent sitescreated on thecommon. Thiswater-filled hollow(NPRN 247381) isin fact a bombcrater caused by aGerman bombduring the SecondWorld War.14