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

Uplands Initiative – <strong>Banc</strong> y <strong>Celyn</strong> 20083.3.7 Pillow MoundsA single group of pillow mounds is recorded in the study area, at Cwm Owen (NPRN24380). The pillow mounds are mostly located in a parcel of improved pasture on theeastern side of the B4520 road, opposite the former Griffin Inn pub, which is nowknown as Cwm Owen.Previously, this group was thought to include 5 pillow mounds, but during February2009, melting snow across the site revealed that there are in fact 7 mounds here, two ofwhich (NPRNs 247163 & 247184) are found outside the field parcel on the opencommon. The 5 pillow mounds inside the field (NPRNs 247225-247229) are verydenuded and are usually only visible in low light. It appears that two of the moundswere excavated privately c.1934 (Spurgeon, 1967, 20) but there is no record of thepurpose or results of the excavation, apart from a photograph held by the RCAHMW.The best preserved of the mounds is the easternmost, NPRN 247184, which lies on thecommon. It measures 25m x 5m and stands up to 0.6m high.The date of these pillow mounds is unknown, but they would loosely be ascribed to theMedieval or Post-Medieval periods. The position of this group is of some interest, asthey are positioned immediately next to the historic Brecon to Builth Well road (nowthe B4520), which passes only 100m to the east. Whether the pillow mounds predatethis road, which was once thought to be Roman, but is now thought to be post medieval,is unknown. There is no clear evidence for a dwelling or buildings associated with thepillow mounds, although a small, denuded enclosure (NPRN 90359) on the stream bankto the south of the largest mound may be of relevance.Plate 33: Cwm Owen Pillow Mound NPRN 247184.60