Uplands Initiative Elenydd (Central) Archaeological Survey (Part One)

Uplands Initiative Elenydd (Central) 
Archaeological Survey (Part One)

Crynodeb
Mae Elenydd (Canol) yn ymestyn dros 23.47 cilomedr sgwâr ac yn ffurfio tua thraean o ardal ehangach ym mryniau canolbarth Cymru a archwiliwyd gan Trysor yn ystod haf a hydref 2009. Ceir adroddiadau ar wahân ar gyfer arolygon ardaloedd De a Gogledd Elenydd. Cariwyd y gwaith allan gyda chymorth ariannol Comisiwn Brenhinol Henebion Cymru, fel rhan o brosiect Menter yr Ucheldiroedd.

Mae Elenydd (Canol) yn cynnwys ardal o dirwedd fynyddig, anghysbell rhwng rhannau uchaf cymoedd Elan a Chlaerwen. Lleolir ym mhlwyf Llansanffraid Cwmdeuddwr, yng ngorllewin yr hen Sir Faesyfed, rhan o sir Powys bellach. Dyma ardal sydd heb gael ei effeithio’n drwm gyda gweithgareddau dynol, ar wahân i’w defnydd fel tir pori gan ffermydd y cymoedd cyfagos. Dim ond dwy fferm fynyddig sydd o fewn ei ffiniau heddiw. Y pentref agosaf yw Pentref Elan, 4km i’r dwyrain, tra bod tref Rhaeadr Gwy rhyw 8km i ffwrdd i’r un cyfeiriad. Yr unig ffordd gyhoeddus i gyffwrdd â’r ardal yw’r heol garw sy’n cysylltu Dyffryn Elan â Ffair Rhos, Ceredigion, gan ddilyn ochr ogleddol Llyn Claerwen. Serch hynny, mae’r ffordd hon yn rhy arw i ganiatáu llawer o drafnidiaeth. Ceir llwybr arall, sy’n croesi trwy ganol yr ardal o Ffair Rhos i ran uchaf Dyffryn Elan, sef y llwybr a elwir “Ffordd y Mynachod” heddiw. Mae hon yn un o’r ychydig ffyrdd cyhoeddus yn Elenydd (Canol).

Yn ystod y Canol Oesoedd, ffurfia’r ardal hon rhan o Gwmdeuddwr, un o ystadau abaty Ystrad Fflur, Ceredigion. Ar ôl Diddymiad y Mynachlogydd, roedd yr hen ystâd y mynachod wedi syrthio i ddwylo preifat fel rhan o Ystâd Cwm Elan. Daeth y rhan fwyaf o’r ystâd yn eiddo i Gorfforaeth Birmingham yn ystod yr 1890au, pan roddwyd hawl iddynt, drwy ddeddf gwlad, feddiannu dyffrynnoedd Elan a Chlaerwen, a’r tiroedd cyfagos. Gwnaed hyn er mwyn creu llynnoedd enwog Dyffryn Elan i gyflenwi dŵr i Ganolbarth Lloegr a chymoedd De Cymru. Llyn Claerwen oedd yr olaf o’r llynnoedd i agor, ym 1952. Hyd heddiw, mae bryniau Elenydd (Canol) o dan reolaeth Ystâd Elan, sydd bellach yn nwylo Dŵr Cymru.

Cofnodwyd 122 o safleoedd ac olion archaeolegol gan yr arolwg maes, y rhan fwyaf o’r rhain yn safleoedd a nodwyd am y tro gyntaf. Dyma gyfanswm hynod isel am ardal fynyddig o’r maint yma. Ymhlith prif ganfyddiadau’r arolwg oedd rhai carneddau claddu sy’n dyddio I Oes yr Efydd, yn ogystal ag ychydig o gytiau hir, sydd o bosibl yn dyddio i’r oes pan fu’r ardal yn nwylo mynachod Ystrad Fflur. Serch hynny, dominyddir y cofnod archaeolegol gan safleoedd ôl-ganoloesol neu fodern, llawer ohonynt yn gysylltiedig â gweithgareddau Ystâd Elan.


Adnabyddir Elenydd fel ardal sy’n gyfoethog mewn bywyd gwyllt, yn enwedig mewn rhywogaethau o adar a phlanhigion. Un o nodweddion amlycaf Elenydd heddiw yw’r trwch o laswellt y waun (Molinia Caerulea), sydd bellach yn gorchuddio rhannau helaeth o’r tir yma. Mae’n rhwystr difrifol i archaeolegwyr yn y maes, gan guddio olion archaeolegol a gwneud y tir yn anodd ei gerdded. Yn ogystal, mae’n achosi dirywiad yn ansawdd y porfeydd mynyddig a bioamrywiaeth y fro yn gyffredinol. Mawnogydd a geir dros rannau sylweddol o Elenydd (Canol) hefyd, ond ychydig o dystiolaeth sydd am dorri mawn nac erydiad o’r mawn yn gyffredinol.

Ychydig iawn o ymwelwyr sy’n mentro allan ar y bryniau yma, ac mae’r ardal yn cael ei gyfrif fel un o’r ardaloedd mwyaf anghysbell a digyfnewid yng Nghymru. Gall y cynnydd parhaol mewn poblogrwydd gweithgareddau hamdden megis cerdded a beicio mynydd newid y sefyllfa yn y dyfodol. Gobeithir y bydd y cofnod cyflawn o olion archaeolegol yr ardal a grëwyd gan y prosiect hwn yn fodd i ddiogelu’r dystiolaeth frau am weithgarwch dynol ar fryniau Elenydd.


Summary
The Elenydd (Central) study area extends across some 23.47km2 and forms about one third of a larger area surveyed in the Cambrian Mountains by Trysor during the summer and autumn of 2009. Separate reports have been prepared for the surveys of Elenydd (North) and Elenydd (South). The projects were undertaken with grant-aid from the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments in Wales, as part of their Uplands Initiative project.

Elenydd (Central) is focused on a remote hilly area which lays between the Claerwen and upper Elan valleys. It is in the parish of Llansanffraid Cwmdeuddwr, in western Radnorshire, part of the modern county of Powys. It is an area which appears to have seen very little human activity apart from pastoral farming and has only two occupied hill farms within its boundaries. The nearest village is Elan Village, 4km to the east, whilst the town of Rhayader lies 8km in the same direction. The only public road through the study area is the rough track which connects the Elan Valley with Ffair Rhos in Ceredigion, which runs along the northern edge of the Claerwen reservoir, via Claerwen farm, at the southern edge of the area. This track is too rough to carry road traffic and is therefore rarely used. A long distance trackway runs through the heart of Elenydd (Central), from the Ffair Rhos and Strata Florida area in Ceredigion to the upper Elan valley, the so-called “Monks’ Way” or “Monks’ Trod”. This is one of very few public footpaths in the district and is also infrequently used.

During medieval times, the area formed a part of Cwmdeuddwr, an upland grange of Strata Florida abbey, Ceredigion. After the Dissolution of the Monasteries, the grange was transformed into the private Cwm Elan estate. During the 1890s the whole district passed into the ownership of the Birmingham Corporation, when an Act of Parliament granted the Corporation permission to occupy the Elan and Claerwen valleys, and the water catchments of each river. This created a new Elan Estate focused on the famous Elan Valley reservoirs, constructed to supply water to the English Midlands and the South Wales valleys. Claerwen was the last of the reservoirs to appear, not being opened until 1952. To the present day, the hills of Elenydd (Central) are managed by the Elan Estate, now in the hands of Welsh Water.

The field survey recorded 122 archaeological sites in the area, most of which were noted for the first time. This is a very low figure for an upland area of this size. Amongst the most significant discoveries were a small number of Bronze Age funerary cairns and several long huts, some of which may have been in use in medieval times, when the area was controlled by the monks of Strata Florida. The record is, however, dominated by post medieval and modern archaeology, much of which is associated with the activities of the Elan Estate.

Elenydd (Central) is rich in terms of its wildlife, especially in terms of bird species and its flora. However, one of the most important characteristics of Elenydd (Central) is the thick mat of purple moor-grass (Molinia Caerulea) which now covers a significant portion of the area. This proved a hindrance to the archaeological survey as it obscures surface features and makes the land difficult to walk. It is also affecting the quality of the upland pasture and the bio-diversity of the area in general. Elenydd (Central) also has extensive areas of peat bog, with remarkably little evidence for peat cutting or peat erosion.

The Elenydd landscape is considered to be amongst the most remote and undisturbed in Wales, and this part of it is rarely frequented by visitors. It is not impossible that the rise in popularity for outdoor pursuits might yet have an impact. It is hoped that the complete record of archaeological features created by this project will help protect the fragile evidence of human activity in the area and enable an increased understanding of the history and development of this special landscape.



Related Uplands Archaeology Links:
Read in full: Uplands Initiative Elenydd (Central) Archaeological Survey (Part One) (PDF file, 5.5MB)
The Uplands Archaeology Initiative Royal Commission Website