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Mynydd-y-glogBarrow / Cairn Cemetery
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Guess it's somewhat of a cliché to state that those with the loudest voices very often have the least to say. Nevertheless - in my opinion - it's true. Suffice to note I'm therefore not a fan of Noel Gallagher's little brother. Or, as it happens, rappers spouting platitudes which merely highlight perceived moral and intellectual shortcomings. Yeah, class will speak for itself. A bit like, from an archaeological perspective at least, the silence which pervades the sprawling mass of Mynydd-y-glog. Situated in the transitional 'no man's land' between the seriously compromised industrial valleys and the beautiful, wild uplands of Fforest Fawr and, furthermore, rising to a perfunctory 1,277ft, Mynydd-y-glog must've sacked its tourist liaison officer years ago. Nothing to do. In fact one may well be tempted to ask why anyone would want to come here? It is a question well worth asking, however, particularly should one have an interest in the human story of what is now South Wales. For here, upon these unassuming slopes, sits a quite magnificent collection of Bronze Age upland cairns. According to RCAHMW [David Leighton, 2/9/2011]: "...Eight round cairns lie in positions locally elevated to a greater or lesser degree. All have been disturbed... Around these lie a further eight round cairns, likewise disturbed.. A ‘simple’ ring cairn lies on a terrace on the north-west, and on the south... is a low circular mound, only faintly visible, with a gently dished interior suggesting perhaps a more elaborate ring is concealed here. Both are undisturbed... On the north side of the mountain are cairnfields and traces of settlements and field systems which extend across Pant Sychbant and Cwm Cadlan, areas which also contain sepulchral monuments. Cairnfields can also be found on the west side of the mountain..." So, 18 monuments... with more potentially subsumed within the peat? Whatever, far too many to list individual characteristics here. Instead I'd recommend the curious Citizen Cairn'd contemplates a field visit. Take the Cwm Cadlan road exiting the A4059 at Penderyn and, shortly after a sharp right, follow a public footpath heading beyond the farm of Wernlas to ascend toward the summit of the hill, the latter crowned by an OS trig pillar. And quite a bit else. |
Posted by GLADMAN18th February 2018ce Edited 18th February 2018ce |
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Mynydd-y-glog is an undulating heather moorland landscape characterised by several rocky Millstone Grit summits and slighter knolls rising to 385m, interspersed with damp, boggy basins. The summits and the drier slopes support an assemblage of funerary and ritual monuments in what appears to be an area set aside for such use during the Bronze Age. Eighteen relevant structures have so far been identified. Eight round cairns lie in positions locally elevated to a greater or lesser degree. All have been disturbed in one case revealing evidence of internal structure (NPRN 84520). Around these lie a further eight round cairns, likewise disturbed. One of these is the only example displaying a cist (84508). Another is surrounded by massive kerb stones (84523), though examples elsewhere may be obscured by cairn material. At points on the edge of the cemetery lie two ring monuments. A 'simple' ring cairn lies on a terrace on the north-west (84519), and on the south, in a sheltered location, is a low circular mound, only faintly visible, with a gently dished interior suggesting perhaps a more elaborate ring is concealed here (84511). Both are undisturbed. On the north side of the mountain are cairnfields and traces of settlements and field systems which extend across Pant Sychbant and Cwm Cadlan, areas which also contain sepulchral monuments. Cairnfields can also be found on the west side of the mountain. Around the summit cairns are basin areas containing peat to a depth of at least 1.5m, while on the east side of the mountain (below the trig.point) peat in excess of 2m deep has been detected. The area occupied by these monuments spans some 3.5 sq. km. but could extend to 7.5 sq.km. if Penmoelallt, adjoining on the immediate east, is included. This is a similarly undulating mountain, rising to 420m. Although long afforested, three sepulchral mounds are already known there along with peripheral groups of small cairns. The Mynydd-y-glog cemetery bears comparison with the excavated cemetery at Brenig (Denbs) (401203) which incorporates large burial monuments, smaller stone cairns (one with kerb structure) and a ring cairn in addition to more 'exotic' types not so far identified here. Whereas the burial and ritual monuments at Brenig cluster around a valley head here they are assembled on and around a mountain summit. And a couple of pics here http://www.coflein.gov.uk/en/site/414686/images/MYNYDD-Y-GLOG%2C+BRONZE+AGE+CEMETERY/ |
Posted by postman10th January 2012ce Edited 25th February 2018ce |
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