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Aaron Brute's Level and Iron Bridge is a post-medieval and modern mining installation in Wales, protected as a scheduled monument by Cadw. The site exploits coal seams and associated ironstone deposits within the Pennine Lower Coal Measures Formation, a sequence of mudstone, siltstone, sandstone and coal laid down during the Westphalian period. These geological conditions made the locality attractive for mineral extraction as industrial demand grew.
The level represents a horizontal or gently inclined mine entrance driven into the coal-bearing strata, a characteristic extraction method used to access seams without the expense of deep vertical shafts. The associated iron bridge, presumably constructed to facilitate transport of extracted material or to serve as infrastructure for the working mine, reflects the industrial engineering of the period. Together, the level and bridge form a physical record of Wales's coalfield development during the expansion of the mining industry.
The monument survives as evidence of small-scale or localized coal and ironstone exploitation. Its protection by Cadw recognises the historical and archaeological significance of post-medieval extractive industry in the Welsh landscape, documenting the technological and economic responses to accessible mineral deposits in these coal-bearing formations.
Aaron Brute's Level and Iron Bridge is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference MM220. View the official record →
Aaron Brute's Level and Iron Bridge is a post-medieval and modern mining installation in Wales, protected as a scheduled monument by Cadw. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Cadw under reference MM220.
Aaron Brute's Level and Iron Bridge dates from the post medieval/modern period, and is classified as a level. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Aaron Brute's Level and Iron Bridge is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Cadw — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in Wales. The official designation reference is MM220.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Engine Pit, Blaenavon (0.5 km), Coity Sandstone Quarry and Incline (1.6 km), Capel Newydd, Blaenavon (site of) (2.4 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Aaron Brute's Level and Iron Bridge's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Aaron Brute's Level and Iron Bridge stands on Pennine Lower Coal Measures Formation And South Wales Lower Coal Measures Formation (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Westphalian. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone, sandstone, coal, ironstone and ferricrete.