Drws y Coed Prehistoric Settlement

Cadw's description

Summary description and reason for designation

The following provides a general description of the Scheduled Monument.

The monument comprises the remains of a group of particularly well-preserved hut circles that probably date to the Iron Age or Romano-British period (c. 800 BC - AD 400). The settlement stands in traditional upland sheep pasture, on a level terrace beneath Mynydd Mawr in the Nantlle Valley, close to the 18th and 19th century copper workings at Drws-y-Coed. The monument includes at least five circular huts; some stone has been taken to build the sheepfold nearby but three of the huts remain clearly visible and another two are readily identified. Stony banks and lines of boulders define small field plots or paddocks associated with the settlement.

The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of later prehistoric domestic construction practices. The monument represents an almost complete example of a settlement of this date and retains significant archaeological potential. There is a strong probability that structural evidence has survived, together with internal and external floor surfaces. The foundations of further huts could survive below the present ground level. The possibility that the site was associated with early exploitation of the known copper sourse nearby enhances its importance.

The scheduled area comprises the remains described and areas around them within which related evidence may be expected to survive.