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

ArcHeritageiiiSUMMARYAn archaeological survey was undertaken at <strong>Cwm</strong> <strong>Prysor</strong> between May and October 2012 byArcHeritage, on behalf of the RCAHMW. The survey was undertaken as part of the UplandsSurvey Initiative. Part of the survey was undertaken by students of the University of Sheffieldas a field school for an MA in Landscape Archaeology. The project comprised desk-basedassessment and a field identification survey to a Level 1 standard.The <strong>Cwm</strong> <strong>Prysor</strong> survey area, centred on SH 759 343, is located to the southeast ofTrawsfynydd, in the Unitary Authority of Gwynedd and within Snowdonia National Park. Itcovers an area of 25.173 km 2 . The majority of the survey area was part of the TrawsfynyddMilitary Range during the first half of the 20 th century. The eastern extent of the survey area ispart of the Migneint-Arenig-Dduallt SSSI. The height above sea level varies from 240m to620m.The desk-based research identified 83 known archaeological sites within the survey area,including two prehistoric to Romano-British settlement sites, a possible prehistoric ormedieval deserted rural settlement, gold mines, Roman roads and a Roman tile kiln, and postmedievalfarmsteads. The survey identified a total of 1540 sites, including the previouslyrecorded sites. Not all of the previously recorded sites were identified on the ground.The survey identified a further prehistoric hut group and a cairnfield, the latter being a rareexample of this type of site within the area. Further possible hut sites were recorded, thoughthese could not be conclusively identified as prehistoric. Possible burial mounds were alsoidentified. Only one medieval longhouse site was recorded, though further structures and fieldboundaries may have had a medieval origin. These were located in the vicinity of the proposeddeserted rural settlement, and further survey is recommended in this area to record thefeatures in more detail.A total of 994 sites of probable post-medieval date were recorded. These mainly relate toagriculture and subsistence, and comprise seven farmsteads, around 100 sheep folds andstock enclosures, field boundaries, track ways and ponds. Industrial post-medieval sitesincluded small quarries, copper and gold mines, and numerous peat cuttings. The farmsteadswere all located on the lower ground to either side of the Afon Gain, and may have originatedin the late medieval to early post-medieval periods. They were abandoned in 1905 inassociation with the purchase of the land by the War Department.A large proportion of the modern sites related to military training, including firing rangeblockhouses, telecommunications structures and gun emplacements associated with artillerytraining. There were also practice trenches, bunkers, slit trenches and fox holes characteristicof First World War infantry training. Much of the area is covered by shell and mortar craters.Other modern sites related to stock management and transport routes.<strong>Cwm</strong> <strong>Prysor</strong> Upland SurveyArcHeritage Survey Report Report No 2013/8