Cwm Prysor (Merionethshire) - Royal Commission on the Ancient ...

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ArcHeritage 14Agriculture and SubsistenceThe agriculture and subsistence category represents 403 sites of probable and possible postmedievaldate. The features include field boundary walls and banks, sheep folds and stockenclosures, as well as short, isolated stretches of wall identified as sheep shelters. Thesefeatures were associated with seven farmsteads, Buarth-Brwynog, Dôl y Moch Isaf I and II, Dôly-MochUchaf, Hafod-y-Gareg, Hafod-y-Plâs and Nant-Lliwgys, as well as with the survivingfarms outside the survey area. The farmsteads comprised groups of small, ruined stone-builtstructures with associated yards and stock enclosures, within wider irregularly-shaped fieldsdefined by drystone walls. Historic OS mapping shows many of the buildings as roofed, but thepoor level of survival means that it was not always possible to distinguish between barns anddomestic structures. A farmhouse was identified at Buarth-Brwynog (NPRN 530721) due to thesurvival of part of the gable wall and fireplace (Plate 9), and probable domestic structureswere recorded at the three Dôl-y-Moch farmsteads. Dôl-y-Moch Isaf Farmstead I (NPRN530505) was interesting in that the probable farmhouse building appeared to have been cutinto the hillside, and many of the surrounding enclosure walls survived as banks rather thanstone walls (Plate 10), suggesting it may have had a relatively early origin.The remainder of the structures associated with farmsteads were recorded as farm buildingsor barns. The seven farmsteads are all located in the valley of the Afon Gain, on the generallylower, gently sloping ground at an altitude of between 300m and 359m aOD. The condition ofsurvival varied, but only a few walls survived to more than 2m in height. Buildings interpretedas barns generally have a better level of survival, and contain features allowing them to beidentified. A building at Cae Gwair (NPRN 531125) may be associated with the HER recordrelating to Cae Gwair old house (PRN 5068). The building was labelled ‘Cae Gwair’ on the 1901OS map, but appears from visible evidence to be a barn (Plate 11). A further farmstead shownon the 1889 OS map at Dôl-y-Mynach Uchaf, located just outside the survey area, appears tohave been substantially destroyed by artillery training. All of the farmsteads were shown onthe 1901 OS map, and appear to have been abandoned c.1905 in association with theestablishment of the artillery firing range.A further possible farmstead was recorded at Ffrîdd Ddu (also known as Ffrîdd Bod-y-Fuddau).This comprised more ephemeral remains of several structures and walls (NPRN 531292). Nofarmstead is shown in this location on the historic OS mapping, though a number ofsheepfolds are shown. There are more structures and enclosures visible on the ground thanare depicted on the historic maps, and this area is close to NMR and HER records relating to apossible deserted rural settlement. More detailed survey in this area could assist inestablishing the layout and phasing of enclosures and structures. There are also severalboundary banks in this area which could relate to earlier (prehistoric to medieval) agricultureor settlement.Sheep folds comprise a large proportion of the post-medieval sites (Plate 12). These aregenerally isolated features, though some are found in the vicinity of farmsteads. Sheep foldswere found at all altitudes from 250m to 550m aOD. They are of drystone construction, andrange from simple pens to more complex groups designed to sort and isolate sheep. Somehave associated sheep dips. The level of survival varies, with some structures visible only asthe base of tumbled walls and others still appearing to be in regular use. Field boundaries also<strong>Cwm</strong> <strong>Prysor</strong> Upland SurveyArcHeritage Survey Report Report No 2013/8
ArcHeritage 15vary considerably in terms of preservation. In some cases, only stony banks or single coursesof stone walls survive, whereas others have been kept in good repair, or have been modifiedthrough the addition of wire fences.IndustrialPost-medieval industrial features include quarries, mines and peat cuttings, as well as apossible kiln at Craig y Ffolt. Quarrying appears to have been undertaken mainly for buildingstone and slate, including for the construction of field boundary walls. Some of the quarryingremains suggest that extraction of quartz was also a factor. The quarries vary in size from smallstone extraction hollows to rock faces over 50m in length. Quarrying may be over-representedin the surveyed sites, as the patterns of natural fracturing of exposed rock faces producessimilar features to those related to deliberate extraction of stone. Where it is unclear, this hasbeen noted in the short text descriptions. The larger quarries tend to be located to the northof the Afon Gain, around Gelli Gain, Pig Idris and Moel Oernant (Plate 13).Mining remains comprise 34 sites recorded during the survey. The majority of mining remainsare located on the slopes to the north and south of Moel Ddu, at Ffrîdd Ddu and Llyn GelliGain, with other small groups at Nant Cae-Gwair, Nant Braich y Ceunant and Bryn yr Helfa. Theremains generally comprise linear hollows leading towards shaft openings in the face ofhillsides (Plate 14). Five of the sites appear to be associated with gold mines recorded on theHER (531287, 531322, 531335, 531509-510), whilst others at Afon Gain and Nant Braich yCeunant are shown on historic OS maps as trial copper mines (NPRN 530876, 531100-531102).The exact date of the mining activity is unclear, but in some cases shafts appear to have beenexcavated and abandoned between the 1899 and 1901 OS surveys. Some of the workings arenot shown on any maps and may represent prospection.The largest number of sites in the industrial category comprise peat cuttings. These featuresmay be over-represented, as in some cases it was difficult to distinguish natural peat erosionfrom deliberate peat cutting. Where this was the case, it has been noted in the short textdescription. Peat cuttings were widely distributed across the survey area, at altitudes from300m to 549m aOD.TransportTransport features comprise track ways, hollow ways and bridges. Hollow ways representroutes defined by a worn hollow, sometimes with banks to either side, whereas track waystend to be level or terraced features with no distinct hollow, and sometimes with gravelsurfacing. The features included well-established farm tracks or post-medieval routes to andfrom farmsteads (Plate 15), as well as routes which may have been associated with industrialextraction.5.2.5 ModernThe survey identified 295 modern or probably modern sites. These can mainly be broken downinto two broad categories: farm infrastructure features (field boundaries, sheep folds, ponds,bridges, culverts); and defence (practice trenches, weapons pits, firing range blockhouses,military roads, telecommunication structures). The locations of all modern sites are shown onFigure 6, with defence-related sites and the extent of the military range shown on Figure 7.<strong>Cwm</strong> <strong>Prysor</strong> Upland SurveyArcHeritage Survey Report Report No 2013/8
Page 1 and 2: UPLANDS ARCHAEOLOGY INITIATIVEPROJE
Page 3: ArcHeritage is a trading name of Yo
Page 6 and 7: ArcHeritageiiiSUMMARYAn archaeologi
Page 8 and 9: ArcHeritagevKEY PROJECT INFORMATION
Page 10 and 11: ArcHeritage 23.2.1 Documentary Surv
Page 12 and 13: ArcHeritage 44.2 MedievalIn the med
Page 14 and 15: ArcHeritage 6The survey examined pr
Page 16 and 17: ArcHeritage 8Table 3: Range of site
Page 18 and 19: ArcHeritage 10Feature typeNumber of
Page 20 and 21: ArcHeritage 12fields (531234, 53123
Page 24 and 25: ArcHeritage 16Defence and telecommu
Page 26 and 27: ArcHeritage 18Prehistoric to Romano
Page 28: ArcHeritage 20GAT. 2007. The Trawsf
Page 39 and 40: ArcHeritage 23Plate 3: Ffrîdd Glap
Page 41 and 42: ArcHeritage 25Plate 7: Ffrîdd Ddu
Page 43 and 44: ArcHeritage 27Plate 11: Cae-Gwair B
Page 45 and 46: ArcHeritage 29Plate 15: Ffrîdd Dô
Page 47 and 48: ArcHeritage 31Plate 19: Northeast O
Page 49 and 50: ArcHeritage 33NMRNPRNHER PRN Site N
Page 51 and 52: ArcHeritage 35APPENDIX 2 - SUMMARY
Page 53 and 54: ArcHeritage 37NPRN NGR Broad Class
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ArcHeritage 57NPRN NGR Broad Class
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