Clyne Valley Shaft Mounds

Cadw's description

Summary description and reason for designation

The following provides a general description of the Scheduled Ancient Monument.

The monument comprises the remains of a well preserved group of relict shaft mound features for early coal mining. These examples are most likely to represent small bell-pits for primitive digging of coal seams near the surface, probably from around the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Some nineteenth century workings lie between them, with larger shaft mounds and working platforms, from the period of working following the construction of the Oystermouth Railway into the valley in 1804. Recent archaeological excavations at similar sites have shown the diversity of such features and their potential importance in understanding mining history.

The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of 18th and 19th century industrial and mining practices. It retains significant archaeological potential, with a strong probability of the presence of associated archaeological features and deposits. Shaft mounds may be part of a larger cluster of monuments and their importance can 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.