Scheduled MonumentsWalesArea of Shrunken Medieval Village
Medieval · Shrunken Medieval Village

Area of Shrunken Medieval Village

Wales
Cadw SAM GM375
Period
Medieval
Site type
Shrunken Medieval Village
Broad class
Domestic
Nation
Wales
The designation
Reference
Cadw SAM GM375
Authority
Cadw
Designated
1976-01-08
Boundary

Scheduled area

© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Cadw

Overview

History & significance

Area of Shrunken Medieval Village is a settlement site that preserves the physical remains of a medieval community in Wales. The site lies upon bedrock of the Lias Group, a sequence of mudstone, siltstone, limestone and sandstone laid down during the Aalenian period of the Jurassic era. This underlying geology shaped both the landscape the villagers inhabited and the stone materials available to them for building and other purposes.

The settlement belongs to a class of archaeological sites common across Britain where medieval villages contracted or were abandoned, leaving earthwork evidence of former occupation. The topography and surviving ground features at this location reflect the pattern of medieval habitation, settlement organisation and subsequent desertion that characterises such sites. The remains are protected as a scheduled monument under Cadw, the Welsh historic monuments authority, under reference GM375.

The shrunken village represents an important record of rural settlement history and landscape use during the medieval period in Wales. Such sites preserve information about medieval community structure, agricultural practices and economic change that would otherwise be lost. The earthworks visible across the site constitute irreplaceable evidence for understanding how this corner of the Welsh countryside was organised and lived in centuries ago.

Area of Shrunken Medieval Village is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference GM375. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Area of Shrunken Medieval Village?

Area of Shrunken Medieval Village is a settlement site that preserves the physical remains of a medieval community in Wales. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Cadw under reference GM375.

What period does Area of Shrunken Medieval Village date from?

Area of Shrunken Medieval Village dates from the medieval period, and is classified as a shrunken medieval village. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.

Who is responsible for protecting Area of Shrunken Medieval Village?

Area of Shrunken Medieval Village 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 GM375.

What other scheduled monuments are near Area of Shrunken Medieval Village?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Nash Point Camp (1.5 km), St Donat's Churchyard Cross (1.5 km), Tresilian Bay Anti-invasion Defences (2.9 km).

Unlimited access

Everything a full report reveals about Area of Shrunken Medieval Village

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Area of Shrunken Medieval Village's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:

Overview
An interactive map of the location with every monument and battle plotted, and a plain-language history built only from what the record holds.
Monuments
The legally protected scheduled monuments around the location, each with its period, type and significance.
Battlefields
The battles and sieges fought on this ground, mapped and set on a timeline of the wider conflict.
Roman Britain
The Roman roads, forts and towns near here, and the Iron Age people who held the land before Rome arrived.
Civil War
The Civil War fighting, garrisons and recorded militaria in this area, woven into the arc of 1642 to 1651.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back hundreds of millions of years.
Local Names
What the street and field names around here actually mean, and the history buried inside them.
Historical Maps
Ordnance Survey maps from the 1800s, layered over the location as it stands today.
Literature
The books, county histories, charters and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.
Legal
The protected sites nearby and the metal-detecting, access and treasure laws that apply to this ground.
Spotlight
A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.
Target Zones
For detectorists: the most promising ground to search nearby, ranked by confidence, with what to expect.
Timeline
The whole story of the location told era by era, from prehistory to the present day.
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Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.

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The ground beneath

The bedrock under Area of Shrunken Medieval Village

Area of Shrunken Medieval Village stands on Lias Group, bedrock that formed in the Aalenian. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone, limestone and sandstone.

The wider landscape

Around Area of Shrunken Medieval Village

Caerphilly CastleArchaeological site · ~17.9 miles