MM347

Afon Sirhowy hut circle  

19/06/2008  

Designated  

Blaenau Gwent  

Tredegar  

311899  

211910  

Agriculture and Subsistence  

Hut Circle Settlement  

Prehistoric  

The following provides a general description of the Scheduled Ancient Monument. The monument comprises a fine hut circle, the foundations of a round house probably dating to the Bronze Age (c.2300 BC - 800 BC) and situated within open moorland on the slopes to the SE of the gully containing the Afon Sirhowy. The hut circle is well-preserved and measures 5.3m in diameter within a low grass-covered stony bank 1.1m in thickness and 0.2m in height. Terraced into the slope on the rear, an entrance is visible in the NNW side. The hut circle is situated upon well-drained and sheltered N-facing slopes, in an area largely cleared of stones. There are clearance heaps at the base of the slope and traces of field banks evident. The remains of a further hut circle are situated downslope. It is very likely that the settlement and associated field system once extended further to the SE, within the area now enclosed and improved. The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of prehistoric domestic life and social organisation. The monument is very well-preserved and is a rare survival of a once extensive Bronze Age agricultural landscape. It retains significant archaeological potential, with a strong probability of the presence of structural evidence and associated archaeological features and deposits. The area scheduled comprises the remains described and an area around them within which related evidence may be expected to survive. It is irregular and measures 250m from NE to SW by up to 80m transversely.