CN080

Ancient Village 270m West of Bod Angharad  

 

Designated  

Gwynedd  

Llanwnda  

250204  

358512  

Domestic  

Enclosed hut circle  

Prehistoric  

The following provides a general description of the Scheduled Monument. The monument comprises the remains of two or three hut groups and associated cultivation terraces, all probably dating to the Iron Age and Roman-British periods. CN080a Enclosed hut group at West On the edge of a natural scarp is an enclosure c.45m by 28m, containing two round huts. The west boundary of the enclosure follows the scarp, which is surmounted by a wall of boulders. The entrance to the site lies in the centre of this side, and forms a gully 2.5m wide, cutting through the scarp. The entrance road can be traced for some 12m to the west, flanked by lines of boulders. The remaining enclosure wall consists of a low grass bank, which has been disturbed by the digging of a drainage ditch around the perimeter of the site. Inside the enclosure are two clearly defined huts. The S appears to be built into the enclosure wall, and has an internal diameter of c.7 m. The wall is c.1 m thick and faced on both sides with large stones. The interior is very uneven. The N hut has an internal diameter of c.9m; the wall is around 1m thick, and just over 1 m high on the south side, with facing stones visible in places. A third hut may lie to the west of the S hut and the probable remains of a rectangular or sub-rectangular building appear N of the entrance. CN080b The site of a possible hut group lies 80m to the NE of CN080a. The remains are much disturbed and difficult to interpret, but part of a hut wall may be visible, and low grass banks run SE towards a major terrace. Alternatively, this may be an unenclosed hut. CN080c An enclosure containing at least four round huts lies 20m east of CN080a and on the other side of a terrace from CN080b. This enclosure is oval, oriented NNE - SSW, and is 61m long by 39m wide. The east side is followed by a modern stone wall, which it leaves in the SE corner when it turns to the west. At this point the south and west sides of the enclosure meet, forming a right-angle, and the south side continues for some 60m. The west side of the enclosure is visible as a low stone wall with only one course remaining in its southern section, and a grass bank in its northern section. A modern drainage gully cuts across the south part of the site, destroying part of the south hut. This hut is c.11m in diameter, with only a rubble bank remaining on the north side, but the outer facing stones are visible on the NW. The south and west sides are largely destroyed. A second hut lies to the north of the first, and is c.10m in diameter. It is demarcated by a rough bank, with occasional facing stones showing. The 1m wide entrance is on the NE side. A stretch of walling runs east from this hut, merging into the north wall of the third hut (which has an internal diameter of about 6m but with no obvious entrance), from where another wall runs north, then east, to form the south side of the entrance into the main enclosure. The walling between the two huts is 1.5m wide and faced on both sides. The fourth hut lies between the north side of the entrance and the north enclosure wall. Its walls are not clearly defined, being little more than grass banks. The main enclosure entrance is to the north of hut 3, and the north side of the entrance shares a common boundary with hut 4. This entrance is 2.5 m wide, but cannot be seen from the outside of the enclosure because of modern walling. The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of prehistoric settlement. It retains significant archaeological potential, with a strong probability of the presence of associated archaeological features and deposits. The structures themselves may be expected to contain archaeological information concerning chronology and building techniques. The scheduled area comprises the remains described and areas around them within which related evidence may be expected to survive.