BR043

Twyn-y-Gaer  

 

Designated  

Powys  

Trallong  

298997  

228039  

Religious, Ritual and Funerary  

Pillow Mound  

Medieval  

The following provides a general description of the Scheduled Ancient Monuments. BR043A - Twyn-y-Gaer Hillfort The monument comprises the remains of a hillfort, which probably dates to the Iron Age period (c. 800 BC - AD 74, the Roman conquest of Wales). Hillforts are usually located on hilltops and surrounded by a single or multiple earthworks of massive proportions. Hillforts must have formed symbols of power within the landscape, while their function may have had as much to do with ostentation and display as defence. The site comprises a oval univallate enclosure measuring 110m E/W by 88m N/S, defined by a banked rampart that is only partly preserved around the circuit of the monument. The entrance is on the north side, and the bank and ditch are best preserved either side of the entrance. Here the bank stands up to 3.5m high while the bank is up to 0.2m deep. Around the remainder of the enclosure the ditch is a maximum height of 0.2m and difficult to trace on the N and NE sides. The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of later prehistoric defensive organisation and settlement. The site forms an important element within the wider later prehistoric context and within the surrounding landscape. The site is well preserved and retains considerable archaeological potential. There is a strong probability of the presence of evidence relating to chronology, building techniques and functional detail. The scheduled area comprises the remains described and areas around them within which related evidence may be expected to survive. BR043B - The Round Barrow The monument comprises the remains of a earthen built round barrow, which probably date to the Bronze Age (c. 2300 - 800 BC). The barrow is circular in shape on plan, 10m in diameter, and is 1.2m high. The traces of a ditch 0.5m wide and 0.2m deep can be trace around the circumference of the barrow. The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of prehistoric burial and ritual practices. The features are an important relic of a prehistoric funerary and ritual landscape and retain significant archaeological potential. There is a strong probability of the presence of both intact ritual and burial deposits, together with environmental and structural evidence. Barrows may be part of a larger cluster of monuments and their importance can further enhanced by their group value. The scheduled area comprises the remains described and areas around them within which related evidence may be expected to survive. BR043C - Pilllow Mounds The monument consists of the remains of eight pillow mounds, a pillow-shaped, flat topped rectangular mound often surrounded by a shallow ditch used to farm rabbits. The pillow mounds vary in size from 2m to 80m long, are around 1m high and have a ditch along both long sides. One pillow mound is L-shaped. The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of agricultural techniques. It retains significant archaeological potential, with a strong probability of the presence of associated archaeological features and deposits. The scheduled area comprises the remains described and areas around them within which related evidence may be expected to survive.