HLW (Gt) 2

Gwent Levels  

2001  

Outstanding  

Designated  

Geographically, they are divided into two main areas, namely Wentlooge to the west of the River Usk, and Caldicot to the east. The levels are a landscape of extraordinarily diverse environmental and archaeological potential. Having been reclaimed from the sea at various times during the historic period, the present land surface is a supreme example of a 'hand-crafted' landscape, artificially created and entirely the work of man, preserving clear evidence of distinctive patterns of settlement, enclosure and drainage systems from successive periods of use. There is also a proven, and possibly quite vast, potential for extensive, buried, waterlogged, archaeological and environmental deposits belonging to earlier landscapes. The levels are therefore an uniquely rich archaeological and historical resource in Wales, and certainly of international importance and significance.