The Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust
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THE CLWYD-POWYS ARCHAEOLOGICAL TRUST North Berwyn (S) Upland Survey ARCHAEOLOGICAL FIELD SURVEY CPAT Report No 691 CPAT Report No 691 North Berwyn (S) Upland Survey ARCHAEOLOGICAL FIELD SURVEY R Hankinson February 2005 Report for RCAHMW The Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust 7a Church Street, Welshpool, Powys, SY21 7DL tel (01938) 553670, fax (01938) 552179 © CPAT CPAT Report Record Report and status CPAT Report Title North Berwyn (S) Upland Survey: Archaeological field survey CPAT Project Name Berwyn Survey CPAT Project No 1179 CPAT Report No 691 Confidential (yes/no) Yes draft/final Final Internal control name signature date prepared by R Hankinson 18/02/05 checked by R.J. Silvester 18/02/05 approved by R.J. Silvester 18/02/05 Revisions no date made by checked by approved by Internal memo The Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust 7a Church Street Welshpool Powys SY21 7DL tel (01938) 553670, fax 552179 © CPAT CPAT Report No 691, 20/11/2017 Page 1 CONTENTS SUMMARY 1 INTRODUCTION 2 LOCATION, TOPOGRAPHY AND GEOLOGY 3 METHODOLOGY 4 RESULTS OF THE FIELD SURVEY 5 THE LANDSCAPE OF THE SURVEY AREA 6 AIR PHOTO MAPPING ASSESSMENT 7 RECOMMENDATIONS 8 CONCLUSIONS 9 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 10 REFERENCES APPENDIX 1 LIST OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES BY NPRN APPENDIX 2 LIST OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES BY TYPE ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE LOCATION MAPS CPAT Report No 691, 20/11/2017 Page 2 SUMMARY The following report considers the methodology and results of an archaeological survey carried out by the Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust (CPAT), under the auspices of the Royal Commission’s (RCAHMW) Uplands Initiative between October 2004 and February 2005. The survey covered a mixed block of partially enclosed upland and enclosed farmland, between 300mOD and 785m OD, situated on the western side of the Berwyn Mountains above the village of Llandrillo-yn-Edernion in Denbighshire. Fieldwork extended over an area of 13.0km2 and a total of 342 sites were present, of which 6 were already recorded in the National Monument Record maintained by RCAHMW. A further 12 sites were recorded from aerial photographic sources by RCAHMW prior to the commencement of fieldwork. All of the sites recognised in the field were located using hand-held GPS equipment and recorded in a project database. The majority of the evidence related to the agrarian utilisation of the area, both pastoral and arable, in the medieval and post-medieval periods. Associated settlement was also recongised. Evidence of prehistoric settlement, funerary and ritual activity was also plentiful in relation to similar localities. No evidence of industrial activity was encountered in the survey area, although it is known in the surrounding district. Historically, recreational use of this section of upland seems to have been restricted to the utilisation of sections of moorland for sporting activities (shooting) around the end of the 19th century. A number of routes which cross the main Berwyn ridge were recognised, one of which is believed to represent a Roman road alignment. CPAT Report No 691, 20/11/2017 Page 3 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 In early 2004, the Field Services Section of the Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust (henceforward CPAT) was given grant in aid by the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales (RCAHMW) to conduct, under their long-running Uplands Initiative, an archaeological survey of land on the west side of the Berwyn Mountains in north- west Wales. 1.2 This report summarises the results of the survey, which commenced in October 2004 and employed the formal transect methodology specified by RCAHMW. Data entry was carried out in parallel as the fieldwork progressed, up to the completion of the survey in February 2005. This report was prepared immediately afterwards. 2 LOCATION, TOPOGRAPHY AND GEOLOGY 2.1 The area covered by the survey comprised a section of the western slopes of the Berwyn Mountains, lying to the east of the village of Llandrillo-yn-Edernion, now in Denbighshire, but originally in the historic county of Meirioneth. The centre of the survey area was at approximately National Grid Reference SJ 073363 and covered a total area of 13.0 km2. 2.2 The landscape of the survey area is dominated by the spine-like ridge of the Berwyn Mountains, which runs on a north-east to south-west alignment. Three main streams - Nant Clochnant, Afon Llynor and Afon Trystion - flow down off the ridge in a north-westerly direction and define two spurs known as Y Drum and Moel Pearce, which run to the north-west and west, respectively, of the main ridge. The headwaters of the Afon Llynor formed the main focus of the survey area. 2.3 Hill-slopes in the area are generally of moderate gradient, though with some steeper ground concentrated around Cadair Bronwen, which, at approximately 785m OD, is the highest point in the survey area as defined by RCAHMW. The elevation of the main Berwyn ridge rarely drops below 600m OD, with the subsidiary spurs not descending below 550m OD until they start to run out into lower ground which overlooks the valley of the River Dee. 2.4 The minimum elevation of the survey area is 300m OD in the lower reaches of the Afon Llynor, although, on the western edge of the area, there is a rather larger area of land which forms a broad sloping shelf that overlooks Cwm Pennant and varies in elevation between 350m OD and 450m OD. With the exception of those two localities, all of the land in the survey area lies above 400m OD. 2.5 Land-use in the survey area is divided primarily between permanent moorland grazing and improved (and enclosed) pasture, with lesser areas of heath which are nevertheless still grazed by stock. Land improvement is a notable factor in the appearance of the locality, with significant amounts of improved land extending up to over 600m OD. The vegetation cover of the pasture land is generally grass and rushes with some localised areas of bracken infestation. The heathland is mainly occupied by heather and bilberry, with smaller patches areas of grass and rush cover where acid flushes provide drainage. 2.6 The underlying geology consists of mudstones and siltstones, belonging to the Caradoc and Ashgill phases of the Ordovician period (1994 British Geological Survey map). The Caradoc phase deposits are interbedded with aerial and sub-aerial volcanic ashes and tuffs, which emanated from vents to the north-west, in the Snowdonia massif. A small amount of subsequent intrusive igneous material is also present in the Caradoc phase deposits. By the time of the commencement of the subsequent Ashgill phase, the volcanic activity in Snowdonia seems to have declined to a very low level and is not evidenced in this locality (Smith and George 1961, 40). 2.7 The soils of the area vary, with four main types present, according to the local topography. The ridge crests are occupied by blanket peats of the Crowdy 2 Soil Association, while the lower slopes are occupied by loamy upland soils with a peaty surface horizon belonging to the Hafren and Wilcocks 2 Associations. The lowest ground, consisting of the valley floors and slopes overlooking the River Dee, is occupied by well-drained fine loamy or silty soils of the Manod Association (1983 Soil Survey of England and Wales map and legend). CPAT Report No 691, 20/11/2017 Page 4 3 METHODOLOGY 3.1 The initial phase of the survey was conducted by RCAHMW and comprised the examination and plotting of sites from aerial photographic sources, as is detailed and discussed in Section 6. A project database containing the known sites recorded in the National Monument Record (NMR) was also provided by RCAHMW. Sites recorded in the Regional SMR held by CPAT were appended to the RCAHMW database prior to the commencement of fieldwork. 3.2 RCAHMW also provided digital copies of the early Ordnance Survey mapping to CPAT at the commencement of the survey. These were examined for archaeological sites, with any that were discovered being appended to the database. All sites recorded from these maps and aerial photographs were subsequently checked in the field to determine their authenticity, nature and state of preservation. 3.3 The field survey programme commenced in October 2004. This entailed the systematic transect walking of the area defined by RCAHMW at transect intervals of 30m. One area proved impossible to survey at the required interval, namely the upper, north-facing, slopes of Cadair Bronwen covering an area of approximately 0.1km2. At this location, which is centred at SJ 077351, the ground surface is composed of thick peat which has deep cracks created by slippage on the steep slope. Although the area was crossed once, it quickly became apparent that the ground was potentially dangerous from a health and safety point of view, and it was also considered that there was very little likelihood of visible archaeology being present at this location. 3.4 Sites that were encountered during the field survey were recorded on standard CPAT site-visit forms, the data including: an accurate location using a hand-held global positioning system (GPS) receiver; a written description of the character, function, condition, vulnerability and dating of the monument; and a sketch survey, where appropriate. Selected sites and landscapes were photographed where conditions were good and the site was easily discernible, in line with RCAHMW requirements. Digital images in TIF format of 11mb in size will be passed to RCAHMW with the project archive. The opportunity was also taken to gather anecdotal evidence from local residents regarding the area and a small number of the sites. 3.5 The field records were entered into a Foxpro database, based on that provided by RCAHMW (see para 3.1), using the Data Standard supplied by the RCAHMW at the commencement of the project and the Draft List of Preferred Indexing Terms for Monument Types in Wales, (Version 1, dated August 2002).