Moel Faban Settlement

Nearest town:
Bethesda (1km SW)
OS reference:
SH63676793
OS sheet:
115
Latitude:
53° 11' 26.13 N
Longitude:
4° 2' 26.68 W
Added to TMA by

Images

Image of Moel Faban Settlement by blossom

The second feature is directly behind this one. Photo taken looking East

Image credit: Bloss
blossom
blossom Aug 7, 2011
Image of Moel Faban Settlement by blossom

To left of the picture is the mound. This is formed when the heated rocks are removed from the trough so that the trough can be used again.

Just to the right of the centre is a rectangle of rushes. this is where the trough was.

You can see the stream in the front of the image and just behind the rushes you may be able to see the ridge that forms the horseshoe shaped bank.

Image credit: D Williams
blossom
blossom May 23, 2011

Articles

Miscellaneous

Moel Faban Settlement
Ancient Village / Settlement / Misc. Earthwork
blossom
blossom Aug 7, 2011

I know these features really well. I walk passed them every week while walking the dogs.

I’ve always thought that they were cairns. But I’ve looked on Coflein and GAT and found nothing about them.

They are not marked on the OS map as cairns. So I have been baffled. Clearly man made and very obvious they have had me scratching my head for a while.

Then I thought they are bound to mentioned on TMA, but no.

But then on Coflein I was reading about the settlement when I realised that the outlying structures to the North of the settlement (mentioned in Gladmans post) are these. Coflein suggest that they may be cairns.
I guess they are marked on the OS map as part of the settlement.

So I have added some pictures. They are on the North east slope of Moel faban just above the settlement.

Miscellaneous

Moel Faban Settlement
Ancient Village / Settlement / Misc. Earthwork
blossom
blossom Jul 1, 2011

Walking back along the track from the burnt mound I looked to my left and saw what looks alot to me like a saddle quern.

I have seen examples of saddle querns that are much smaller. But have also read that some are quite large and set in the earth. I wondered if this might be one of those.

The “rim” across the bottom is more obvious in real life.

Considering that the area is absolutely peppered with hut circles it seems that it could possibly be a quern.

Miscellaneous

Moel Faban Settlement
Ancient Village / Settlement / Misc. Earthwork
blossom
blossom May 23, 2011

Burnt Stone Mound Moel Faban.

There is a typical burnt stone mound beside a stream on the north east of Moel Faban.

The mound is horse shoe shaped, surrounding a rectangular patch of rushes which indicates the position of the boiling trough. The whole is enclosed by a low bank.

This may have been the cooking place for the occupants of the round houses but maybe earlier Bronze age.

Meat was cooked in water brought to the boil by throwing heated stones into the trough.

Miscellaneous

Moel Faban Settlement
Ancient Village / Settlement / Misc. Earthwork
GLADMAN
GLADMAN Nov 2, 2010

Set below a Bronze Age cairn cemetery crowning the summit ridge of Moel Faban, this is one of a number of settlements in the immediate locality.
According to Coflein:

‘A generally curvilinear enclosure, c.30m N-S by 20m, defined by tumbled stony banks & scarps, incorporating at least three structures, the largest c.7.2m in diameter: set within an extensive area of relict field boundary features, c.430m NE-SW by 285m, including several groups of settlement features, with further, similar features &/or cairns outlying on the N.
A burnt mound...lies rather to the E.‘

Sites within 20km of Moel Faban Settlement

Like all websites everywhere, we use cookies.