Glynceiriog Uplands
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Glynceiriog Uplands An Archaeological Survey Richard Hayman and Wendy Horton for RCAHM Wales December 2014 Richard Hayman & Wendy Horton Archaeological & Historic Buildings Consultants Mount Pleasant, Harmer Hill, Shrewsbury SY4 3EA 01939 291974 Crynodeb Cafodd arolwg archaeolegol ucheldir Glynceiriog ei gynnal yn ystod haf a hydref 2014. Rhyw 26 cilometr sgwâr o weundir wedi’i amgáu oedd ardal yr arolwg, ar ochr ddwyreiniol Mynydd y Berwyn, a hynny i’r gorllewin ac i’r gogledd o bentref Llanarmon Dyffryn Ceiriog. Mae mwy na 23 cilometr sgwâr o ardal yr arolwg uwchlaw’r cyfuchlin 450 metr ac ar y cyfan mae’n dirlun tonnog o rug a rhedyn, a dyffrynnoedd serth afon Ceiriog a’i llednentydd yn ei chroesi. Cafodd yr arolwg ei gynnal drwy gerdded trawsluniau rheolaidd o 30 metr, a’r nod oedd dod o hyd i safleoedd o bob cyfnod. Cafodd cyfanswm o 478 o safleoedd ei gofnodi, 15 ohonyn nhw wedi’u cofnodi o’r blaen yn y Cofnod Henebion Cenedlaethol. Gwelwyd wyth safle o’r Oes Efydd, sef pump o garneddi a phum maen hir. Mae’n ymddangos bod y mwyafrif o’r rhain yn gysylltiedig â llwybrau ar draws y Berwyn rhwng dyffryn Ceiriog a dyffryn Dyfrdwy. Wedyn cafodd gwersyll gorymdeithio Rhufeinig ei sefydlu ym Mhenplaenau wrth ochr un o’r llwybrau ar draws y mynydd yn nhrydydd chwarter y ganrif gyntaf OC. Gallai darnau bach o drac gerllaw fod yn gyfoes â’r gwersyll Rhufeinig, ond fel arall mae’n debyg bod y trac presennol ar draws y mynydd yn dyddio o’r cyfnod canoloesol. Cafwyd clwstwr o safleoedd o’r Oes Haearn uwchben Nantyr, sef pedwar llwyfan cytiau a seiliau dau gylch o gytiau. Ychydig yn unig o dystiolaeth a welwyd o anheddu ar ôl yr oesoedd canol, yn bennaf am fod y tir yn agored ac anaddas ar gyfer aneddiadau. Cafodd un hafoty posibl ei weld, ond fel arall mae safleoedd aneddiadau wedi’u cyfyngu i’r dyffrynnoedd cysgodol. Hen gorlannau yn bennaf yw’r dystiolaeth o reoli da byw, a’r rheiny wedi’u hamgylchynu gan gloddiau yn hytrach na waliau. Erbyn y bedwaredd ganrif ar bymtheg roedd y tir uchel yn perthyn i sawl ystâd fawr. Cofnodwyd nifer o gerrig terfyn ystadau, y mwyafrif yn perthyn yn ôl pob tebyg i ddiwedd y ddeunawfed ganrif neu ddechrau’r ganrif wedyn. Yn y bedwaredd ganrif ar bymtheg cafodd campau’r maes eu datblygu, gan barhau yn yr ugeinfed ganrif. Safleoedd saethu grugieir, wedi’u codi â cherrig, a blychau saethu tebygol yw’r safleoedd cynharaf. Yn yr ugeinfed ganrif, cafodd llinellau o safleoedd saethu grugieir, ar ffurf pantiau yn y pridd, eu palu ar y tir uchel. Cafodd llinellau o fannau saethu eu hychwanegu wedyn, sef pyst coed ag estyll wedi’u hoelio arnynt. Creiriau yw’r cyfan o’r rhain erbyn hyn. Mae’r adroddiad yn gorffen gydag argymhellion ar gyfer gwaith cofnodi ac ymchwil at y dyfodol. Summary The Glynceiriog uplands archaeology survey was undertaken in the summer and autumn of 2014. The survey area comprises approximately 26 square kilometres of enclosed moorland on the east side of the Berwyn Mountain range in North Wales, to the west and north of Llanarmon Dyffryn Ceiriog village. Over 23 square kilometres of the survey area lies above the 450-metre contour and is mostly an undulating landscape of heather and bracken, crossed by the steep-sided valleys of the Ceiriog river and its tributaries. The survey was conducted by walking regular 30-metre transects and aimed to identify sites of all periods. A total of 478 sites was recorded, 15 of which had been recorded previously in the National Monuments Record. Eight Bronze Age sites were discovered, of which five are cairns and three are standing stones. Most of them seem to be associated with routes across the Berwyns between the Ceiriog and Dee valleys. Subsequently a Roman marching camp was established at Pen Plaenau beside one of these cross-mountain routes in the third quarter of the first century AD. Short fragments of track in the vicinity may be contemporary with the Roman camp, but otherwise the present track across the mountain is probably of medieval origin. A cluster of Iron Age sites was found above Nantyr, in the form of four hut platforms and the footings of two hut circles. Little evidence of medieval and post-medieval settlement was found, largely because the terrain is open and ill-suited to habitation. One upland farmstead, or possible hafotty, was identified, but otherwise settlement sites are confined to the sheltered valleys. Evidence of livestock management is found mainly in the form of relict enclosures, defined by banks rather than walls. By the nineteenth century the uplands were in the ownership of several large estates. Numerous estate boundary stones were recorded, the majority of them probably of the late-eighteenth or early- nineteenth century. Field sports developed in the nineteenth century and continued into the twentieth. The earliest sites are stone-built grouse butts and probable shooting boxes. In the twentieth century lines of grouse butts, in the form of earthen pits, were dug on the high ground. Later they were augmented by lines of shooting stands, in the form of planks nailed to wooden posts. All of them are now relict. The report concludes with recommendations for future recording and research. Glynceiriog Uplands An Uplands Initiative Archaeological Survey Richard Hayman & Wendy Horton © Crown Copyright, 2014 Contents 1.0 Introduction ……………………………………………………. 1 2.0 Methodology ……………………………………………………. 1 3.0 Results of Survey ………………………………………………. 2 3.1 Routes across the mountains ……………………….. 4 3.2 Bronze Age Sites ……………………….. 6 3.3 Iron Age Settlement ………………….….. 9 3.4 Roman Sites ………………….….. 10 3.5 Medieval and Post-medieval Settlement …...……………... 13 3.6 Upland farming from Medieval to Modern times ……………….. 15 3.7 Recreational Sites ……………………….…………………….. 19 3.8 Summary and statement of significance …….….………… . 22 3.9 Use of aerial mapping ………………….………… . 23 4.0 Recommendations ……………………………………………. 24 5.0 References ……………………………………………………. 27 5.1 Cartographic sources …..………………... 27 5.2 Printed sources ………………….……………………….. 27 Appendix 1: Table of sites by Period, Altitude and Type ……………. 31 List of tables Table 1 Sites grouped by contour ……………………………………… 3 Table 2 Sites grouped by period ………………………………………. 3 Table 3 Sites grouped by Broad class …………………………………. 4 Table 4 Sites to be appended to Ordnance Survey mapping ……………. 26 List of figures Figure 1 Location plan …………………………………………….. 2 Figure 2 Cairn on Mynydd Tarw (nprn 295286) ……………………. 5 Figure 3 Structure on top of Mynydd Tarw Cairn (nprn 295286) …….. 5 Figure 4 Cairn above Cwm Maen Gwynedd (nprn 306809) ………... 7 Figure 5 Cairn on Pen Plaenau (nprn 306804) …………..…………… 7 Figure 6 Cist of cairn on Pen Plaenau (nprn 306804) ………..……… 7 Figure 7 Standing stone on Pen Plaenau (nprn 309942) ……………… 8 Figure 8 Standing stone on Pen Plaenau (nprn 539171) ….……………. 8 Figure 9 Stone setting on Pen Plaenau (nprn 539172) ………….. 9 Figure 10 Hut circle, Bryn Du (nprn 539387) …………………………….. 10 Figure 11 Hut circle, Bryn Du (nprn 539371) …………………..…….. 10 Figure 12 Pen Plaenau marching camp (nprn 308852) ………………. 11 Figure 13 Ditch (nprn 539206) East of Pen Plaenau camp ………………. 12 Figure 14 Long hut on Graig Fawr (nprn 539274) ………………….. 12 Figure 15 Swch Cae Rhiw farm buildings (nprn 539438, 539439) ……… 13 Figure 16 Rhydwilym (nprn 539219) ………………………………… 14 Figure 17 Cow shed and yard on the Nantyr Estate (nprn 539149) …….. 14 Figure 18 Sheepfold beside Nant Cwm Geifr (nprn 539019) ……………. 15 Figure 19 Small boundary stone on Y Fawnen (nprn 539269) …………… 16 Figure 20 Engraved estate boundary stones (nprn 539158, 539308) …… 17 Figure 21 Bank and ditch on Cerrig Duon (nprn 539086) ………………. 17 Figure 22 Stones (nprn 539082, 539328) with drill holes for wire ………. 18 Figure 23 Boulder (nprn 539420) on a field bank at Maengwyn ……… 18 Figure 24 Base of Biddulph Tower (nprn 539070) …………………… 20 Figure 25 Grouse butt on Graig Fawr (nprn 539281) ………………. 20 Figure 26 Shooting stand (nprn 539146) in memory of James Darlington .. 21 Figure 27 Memorial inscription to James Darlington (nprn 539146) .……. 21 Figure 28 Grouse butt (nprn 539166) on Pen Plaenau …………………. 22 Figure 29 Shooting box (nprn 539155), Pen Bwlch Llandrillo ……………. 22 Figure 30 Archaeological sites on Bryn Du …………………………….. 24 Figure 31 Archaeological sites in the vicinity of Pen Plaenau camp ……. 25 List of maps Map 1 Archaeological sites by Broad class ………………………..…. 28 Map 2 Archaeological sites by Period ……………………………. 29 Map 3 Archaeological sites by Altitude …………………….……. 30 Acknowledgement The Historical Map Data is © and database right Crown copyright and Landmark Information Group Ltd. All rights reserved. The archaeological data superimposed on the map is Crown copyright: RCAHMW, 2014. 1.0 Introduction The Glynceiriog uplands archaeology survey area covers approximately 26 square kilometres of moorland in the Berwyn Mountain range on the west side of Glyn Ceiriog (fig 1). The survey area is divided into three blocks. Y Foel is unenclosed moorland on the east side of Ceiriog Forest, rising to 550 metres AOD on the southern flank of Vivod Mountain. The largest of the blocks is enclosed moorland on the west and south sides of Nantyr, rising to 700 metres AOD on the east flank of Cadair y Bronwen and descending to 320 metres AOD at the confluence of the River Ceiriog and Nant Rhydwilym. The third block is enclosed grass and heather moorland to the west of Llanarmon Dyffryn Ceiriog village. Here, altitude ranges from 280 metres in the deep river valley at Cwm Geifr, rising to 681 metres AOD on Mynydd Tarw. The upland landscape is primarily featureless moorland, punctuated by occasional peaks and crossed by deep stream valleys. Vegetation cover is a mixture of dwarf- shrub heath, mainly comprising heather and bilberry, blanket mire and areas dominated by acid grassland and bracken.