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

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

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Mae De Elenydd yn ymestyn dros 19.36 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 Canol Elenydd a Gogledd Elenydd. Cariwyd y gwaith allan gyda chymorth ariannol Comisiwn Brenhinol Henebion Cymru, fel rhan o brosiect Menter yr Ucheldiroedd.

Mae ardal yr astudiaeth yn cynnwys cyfres o fryniau a chymoedd bychain ar ochr ogleddol Llyn Claerwen, yng ngorllewin yr hen Sir Faesyfed. Mae De Elenydd wedi aros yn ardal hollol wledig ei naws hyd heddiw, ymhell o drefi a phentrefi’r canolbarth. Y pentref agosaf yw Pentref Elan, 4km i’r dwyrain, tra bod tref Rhaeadr Gwy rhyw 8km i ffwrdd i’r un cyfeiriad. Dyma ardal go anghysbell; yr unig ffordd gyhoeddus sy’n ymlwybro trwy’r ardal yw’r heol garw ar hyd ochr ogleddol Llyn Claerwen, gan gysylltu Dyffryn Elan ag ardal Ffair Rhos, yng Ngheredigion. Mae’r heol yn rhy arw i ganiatáu llawer o drafnidiaeth ac felly nid yw’r ardal yn gweld llawer o ymwelwyr, er bod Argae Claerwen, sydd ychydig i’r de-ddwyrain, yn fan boblogaidd ar hyd y
flwyddyn.

Yn ystod y Canol Oesoedd, ffurfia’r ardal hon rhan o Gwmwd Deuddwr, un o ystadau abaty Ystrad Fflur, Ceredigion. Maes o law, ar ôl Diddymiad y Mynachlogydd, roedd yr hen ystâd fynachaidd wedi syrthio i ddwylo preifat fel rhan o Ystâd Cwm Elan. Daeth y rhan fwyaf o Ystâd Elan 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. Agorwyd Llyn Claerwen ym 1952, yr olaf o’r llynnoedd i ymddangos. Hyd heddiw, mae bryniau De Elenydd o dan reolaeth Ystâd Elan, sydd bellach yn nwylo Dŵr Cymru.

Cofnodwyd 114 o safleoedd ac olion archaeolegol gan yr arolwg maes, cyfanswm hynod isel am ardal fynyddig mor fawr. Mae’r rhan fwyaf o’r rhain yn safleoedd a nodwyd am y tro gyntaf. Ymhlith prif ganfyddiadau’r arolwg oedd rhai carneddau claddu sy’n dyddio Oes yr Efydd ac olion nifer o dai hirion, sydd o bosibl yn dyddio yn ôl i’r oes pan fu mynachod Ystrad Fflur yn gyfrifol am yr ardal. Serch hynny, mae’r cofnod archaeolegol yn cael ei dominyddu gan safleoedd ôl-ganoloesol neu fodern, gydag enghreifftiau niferus o hen fawnogydd ar fryniau’r ardal; rhaid cofio mai mawn oedd prif danwydd ffermydd a bythynnod y fro hyd at ddiwedd y 19eg ganrif. Un o nodweddion amlycaf De Elenydd yw’r trwch o laswellt y waun (Molinia Caerulea) sydd bellach yn gorchuddio rhannau helaeth o fryniau a chymoedd yr ardal. Mae’r gorchudd o lystyfiant yn 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.

Er gwaethaf hyn, mae’r ardal yn atyniadol ac yn gyfoethog o ran y rhywogaethau o adar gwylltion a phlanhigion sy’n bresennol. Ychydig iawn o gerddwyr 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 archaeolegol brau am weithgarwch dynol ym mynyddoedd Elenydd.


Summary
The Elenydd (South) study area extends across some 19.36sq km 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 (Central). 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 (South) is focused on a series of hills and tributary valleys along the northern side of the Claerwen reservoir, in western Radnorshire. It is an area which remains thoroughly rural in character, far from the villages and towns of mid-Wales. The nearest village is Elan Village 4km to the east and the town of Rhayader lies 8km to the east. The only public route through the study area is a rough track which runs along the northern edge of the reservoir and ultimately connects the Elan Valley with Ffair Rhos in Ceredigion. This track is too rough to carry road traffic and therefore very few visitors enter the area, although many thousands annually visit the striking Claerwen Dam, just to the southeast of the study area.

During medieval times, the area formed a part of Cwmwd Cwmdeuddwr, one of the upland granges of Strata Florida abbey, Ceredigion. After the Dissolution of the Monasteries, the old monastic grange was transformed into the private Cwm Elan estate. During the 1890s the whole district was passed into the ownership of the Birmingham Corporation, when an Act of Parliament granted them permission to occupy the Elan and Claerwen valleys, and the watersheds of their rivers, to create a new Elan Estate around the famous Elan Valley reservoirs, which were constructed to supply water to the English Midlands and the valleys of South Wales. Claerwen was the last of the reservoirs to appear, not being opened until 1952. To the present day, the hills of Elenydd (South) are managed by the Elan Estate, which is now in the hands of Welsh Water.

The field survey recorded 114 archaeological sites in the area, a very low figure for an upland area of this size. Most of these features were noted for the first time. Amongst the most significant discoveries were a small number of Bronze Age funerary cairns and the ruins of 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 dominated by post medieval and modern archaeology, including evidence for the once important peat cutting industry; peat was of course the main source of domestic fuel in the district until the end of the 19th century.

One of the most important characteristic of Elenydd (South) is the vigorous growth of purple moor-grass which now covers a significant portion of the hills and valleys. This mat of vegetation is a hindrance to archaeological survey as it obscures surface features and makes the land difficult to walk. It is also causing deterioration in the quality of the upland pasture and affecting the bio-diversity of the area in general.

Despite this, the study area remains an attractive landscape and is still rich in terms of its wildlife, especially in terms of bird species and its flora. Is rarely frequented by walkers; most visitors to the area keep to the road. The area is considered to be amongst the most remote and undisturbed in Wales. It is not impossible that the continuing rise in popularity for outdoor pursuits such as walking and mountain biking 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 (South) Archaeological Survey (Part One) (PDF file, 4.4MB)
The Uplands Archaeology Initiative Royal Commission Website