Hut Circles and Ancient Enclosures NW of Carn Llidi

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 a defensive barrier, field system and associated enclosures, dating to the prehistoric or medieval period. The defensive bank cuts of the isthmus of St David’s Head from above Porth Melgan in the south to Porth Llong in the north and is associated with the promontory fort St David's Head Camp (Scheduled Monument PE071). It consists of a broad band of piled stones and boulders up to a metre high and 3m wide in places, not less than 1.5m - 2m wide overall. It seems where possible to follow and reinforce an escarpment and is in two sections divided by a naturally defensive outcrop, a gap north of centre in the northern section may be an original entrance. The co-axial field system thought to have originated from the defensive structure is laid out obliquely from it and extends some 1.2km north-east to south-west by 0.5km, across the shallow valley between Carn Llidi and the sea-coast. Other irregular and smaller scale fields and a number of sub-circular enclosures which may represent settlement or animal pounds are assigned to the later prehistoric period may indicate the disuse of the original system, although cultivation ridges, given a medieval dating on analogy with other sites in the region, seem to follow the co-axial alignment.

The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of prehistoric/medieval settlement and agricultural practices. It retains significant archaeological potential, with a strong probability of the presence of associated archaeological features and deposits. A field system 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.