Hermon or Dolfwynog Copper/Gold Bog Kiln

Cadw's description

Summary description and reason for designation

The following provides a general description of the Scheduled Monument.

The monument consists of an extraordinarily well-preserved example of a small kiln used to retrieve copper and gold which were found in peat and moss within the immediate area. The structure is of a rare type used in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries to exploit such sources of metals. It appears similar to a limekiln but with a more enclosed hearth and a lower and more irregular pot. The structure has been excavated and consolidated and the full furnace bowl can be seen, with a single blowing and tapping arch to the front, enclosed between wing walls. The structure has been built into the bank at the rear for ease of charging, and there are stone steps up to the level of the arch top.

The monument is of national importance as a rare survivor of peat-burning technology for refining copper and gold. It retains significant archaeological potential, with a strong probability of the presence of associated archaeological features and deposits. The structure itself may be expected to contain archaeological information concerning chronology and building techniques.

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