Banc Erw Barfe Deserted Rural Settlement

Cadw's description

Summary description and reason for designation

The following provides a general description of the Scheduled Monument.

The monument comprises an intact, well preserved and generally undisturbed example of a lluest, or rural shepherd’s cottage. The site consists of the earthen foundations of a long hut with two associated agricultural enclosures and also two 'sunken' house platforms. The main house probably dates to the later 17th / early 18th centuries AD but it is possible that other structures at the site could date from much earlier.

The occupants of Banc Erw Barfe relied on both small scale cultivation and animal husbandry for their livelihood. There are signs of cultivation within one of the enclosures in the form of ridge and furrow marks. It is possible that the two sunken platforms to the north-east of the house could mark the locations of earlier houses and stone walling within suggests that they were intended to support structural features. In later years it is likely that they were used as ancilliary structures for storage, dairying or keeping animals by the occupants of the lluest.

The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of prehistoric/medieval settlement. The monument forms an important element within the wider prehistoric/medieval context and the scheduled area may be expected to contain a wide range of archaeological information, including chronological detail and evidence in regard to construction techniques and agricultural methods. Rectangular huts may be part of a larger cluster of settlement and their importance can be 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.