Bwlch y Pentre Survey Area - North Wales

Bwlch y Pentre Survey Area - North Wales

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Ymgymerwyd ag arolwg archeolegol i adnabod yr ardal fynyddig ar ochr ddeheuol Dyffryn Conwy, o amgylch Bwlch y Pentre (SH 883 476 canol), rhwng Awst a Hydref 2009, gan Oxford Archaeology North (OA North) ar ran Comisiwn Brenhinol Henebion Cymru (CBHC) fel rhan o Fenter yr Uwchdiroedd. Cyflawnodd y prosiect astudiaeth archeolegol wrth y ddesg i ddechrau, yn cael ei ddilyn gydag arolwg adnabod yn y maes ar gyfer yr ardal astudiaeth.

Mae ardal yr arolwg, Bwlch y Pentre, yn cwmpasu ardal 12.1 cilomedr sgwâr, yng nghysgod copaon uchel ar yr ochr ddeheuol, yn cynnwys yr esgair rhwng Carnedd y Filiast a Trum Nant Fach, gyda chadwyn o fryniau is yn rhedeg o Foel Frech i Foel Eglwys. Mae’r ardal dan astudiaeth yn cynnwys gweunydd llechweddog agored a chaeedig, sy’n codi o tua 300m i dros 600m ar yr esgair uchaf, ac mae’r gweunydd wedi’u hamgylchynu gan dir caeedig wedi’i wella a’i led wella ar y llethrau isaf.

Pennodd yr astudiaeth ddesg gyfanswm o 16 safle oedd wedi’u cofnodi dan HER a NMR, ac fe ddiweddarwyd pob un gyda 14 yn cael rhifau NMR newydd, ychwanegol. Nodwyd cyfanswm o 88 safle newydd gan yr arolwg maes, sy’n gynnydd sylweddol yn nifer y safleoedd o fewn ardal yr astudiaeth.

Roedd y safleoedd a ganfuwyd yn flaenorol ac a nodwyd yn yr NMR a’r HER wedi’u cyfyngu i ddwy garnedd angladdol Oes Efydd, a 14 safle ôl-ganoloesol yn cynrychioli strwythurau rheoli stoc, chwareli a cherrig ffiniau.

Yn fwyaf pwysig, mae’r arolwg presennol wedi adnabod adnodd cynhanesyddol arbennig o gyfoethog, sef maes carnedd/system maes amaethyddol yn cwmpasu tua 31 hectar sydd wedi’i amgylchynu gan gofebion angladdol/defodol. Hefyd canfuwyd nifer o garneddau angladdol newydd.

Nid oedd unrhyw safle o ddyddiad canoloesol pendant wedi’i ganfod cyn hyn o fewn yr ardal astudiaeth, ond mae’r arolwg cyfredol wedi medru ychwanegu tri safle trawstrefa newydd o strwythurau cartref uwchdirol sydd yn ôl pob tebyg yn gynharach nag ôlganoloesol o ran dyddiad.

Priodolwyd cyfanswm o 64 safle i’r cyfnod ôl-ganoloesol, mae naw yn fodern a thri ar ddeg o ddyddiad anhysbys. Mae’r mwyafswm o’r safleoedd a nodwyd yn adlewyrchu’r defnydd cymharol ddiweddar o ddarnau mawr o weunydd agored a chaeedig ar ôl y Ddeddf Amgáu Tiroedd. Mae safleoedd o’r cyfnod yn cael eu rhannu’n gymharol gyfartal rhwng corlannau/strwythurau rheoli stoc, a cherrig ffiniau a charneddau marcio yn yr ardaloedd uwch, a charneddau cliro o fewn y caeau isaf wedi’u gwella. Mae nodweddion eraill yn cynnwys llwybrau gweunydd, ardaloedd torri mawn cyfyngedig, a chrafbantiau chwareli bychain.

Summary
An archaeological identification survey of a mountainous region on the south side of the Vale of Conwy around Bwlch y Pentre (SH 883 476 centred), North Wales was undertaken between August and October 2009, by Oxford Archaeology North (OA North) on behalf of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales (RCAHMW) as part of the Uplands Initiative. The project comprised an initial archaeological desk-based study, followed by a field identification survey for the study area.

The survey area of Bwlch y Pentre covers an area of 12.1 sqkm and is dominated by high peaks at the southern end consisting of the ridge between Carnedd y Filiast and Trum Nant Fach, along with a chain of lower hills running from Foel Frech to Moel Eglwys. The study area consists of sloping open and enclosed moorland which rises from approximately 300m to over 600m on the highest ridges, with the moorland being fringed by improved and semiimproved enclosure on the lower slopes.

In total, 16 sites were established by the desk-based study as being recorded within the HER and NMR, of which all were updated and 14 were given additional new NMR numbers. In total, 88 new sites were identified by the field survey, representing a substantial numerical increase in the number of sites within the study area.

The previously discovered sites identified in the NMR and HER were limited to two Bronze Age funerary cairns, and 14 post-medieval sites representing stock management structures, quarries and boundary stones.

Most importantly the present survey has identified a particularly rich prehistoric resource, in the form of an agricultural cairnfield/field-system covering some 31 hectares which is surrounded by funerary/ritual monuments.

No sites of definitively medieval date had previously been discovered within the study area, but the present survey has been able to add three new transhumance-type sites of upland domestic structures that are probably earlier than post-medieval in date.

In total, 72 sites have been ascribed to the post-medieval period, nine are modern and thirteen are of unknown date. The majority of the identified sites reflect the relatively recent exploitation of large tracts of open and post-Enclosure Act moorland sheepwalks. Sites from the period are divided relatively equally between sheep folds/stock management structures, and boundary stones and marker cairns in the more elevated areas, and clearance cairns within the lower improved fields. Other features consist of moorland trackways, limited peat cutting areas, and small-scale quarry scoops.


Related Uplands Archaeology Links:

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The Uplands Archaeology Initiative Royal Commission Website