Cof Cymru: National Historic Assets of Wales · Wales
Cefn yr Argoed Camp
Glyncorrwg, Neath Port Talbot, Wales
The record
- Designation
- Scheduled monument
- Site type
- Enclosure
- Period
- Prehistoric
- Community
- Glyncorrwg
- Unitary authority
- Neath Port Talbot
- Country
- Wales
- Coordinates (centre of the scheduled area)
- 51.63315, -3.68865
- SAM number
- GM245
- Cadw record number
- 2264
Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.
David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries
Shown on 5 historical map sheets, the earliest the 1636 "Cornubia : Devonia, Somersetus, Dorcestria, Wiltonia, Glocestria ..." (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries).
Cadw's description
Summary description and reason for designation
The following provides a general description of the Scheduled Ancient Monument.
The monument consists of the remains of an oval/sub-rectangular, enclosure probably dating to the later prehistoric period (c. 800BC - AD74). It measures about 45m long from north-east to south-west by 33m wide, enclosing an area of 0.1ha, and is bounded by a substantial bank with external ditch. The bank varies from 4.5 to 7.5m in width, and from 0.7 to 1.3m in internal and 1 to 1.5m in external height. The ditch has a U profile, from 1.3 to 2m wide at the bottom and 4.5 to 6m wide at the top; it is well marked on the north-east and south-east but is slighter on the north-west and is absent on the south-west. At the southern end of the enclosure a gap in the bank 4.5m wide, coinciding with the termination of the south-east ditch, indicates the position of the entrance. A modern stone wall crosses the site from north-west to south-east.
The defences are absent on the north-east for a length of 12m That this gap is original seems certain from the fact that on its south-east side the bank is inturned; moreover from the point of in-turn a bank, with a hollow trail along its north-west flank, runs north-east up the hillside for about 32m. Some 20m east-south-east of the southern entrance is a bank about 15m long with a ditch along its upper side, approximately in line with the south-west end of the fort. The most likely explanation for this is that it was the commencement of the upper end of the site first chosen. The lower end would have been 55m to the south-west, where there is a natural crest of steeply falling ground.
The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of later prehistoric defensive organisation and settlement. The site forms an important element within the wider later prehistoric context and within the surrounding landscape. The site is well preserved and retains considerable archaeological potential. There is a strong probability of the presence of evidence relating to chronology, building techniques and functional detail.
The scheduled area comprises the remains described and areas around them within which related evidence may be expected to survive.
Nearby in the register
- Nant Herbert CampEnclosureunder 1 mi
- Cae'r Mynydd Ventilation Furnace and MineCollieryunder 1 mi
- Salem Welsh Baptist ChapelReligious, Ritual and Funerary1 mi
- Kiln block at former Bryn BrickworksIndustrial1 mi
Other entries of the same register within about three miles of this one, by straight line.