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Bipartite enclosure 1 km SSE of Pen Allt-Mawr, Cwm Banw is a prehistoric agricultural enclosure located in Wales. The monument comprises two adjoining enclosed areas, a form common among Neolithic and Bronze Age settlements in upland Britain. Constructed on bedrock of Lower Devonian sandstone and conglomerate, the site sits within the rolling terrain of Cwm Banw, where the underlying geology would have presented both challenges and opportunities for early farmers seeking to establish productive land.
The bipartite layout suggests a purposeful division of space, possibly separating animal husbandry from crop cultivation or distinguishing between domestic and stock-rearing zones. Such enclosures typically date to the Bronze Age, though occupation may have extended into later prehistory. The upland location reflects the pastoral economy of the period, when communities exploited the higher ground seasonally or year-round.
The monument is protected by Cadw under reference BR418, ensuring its preservation as evidence of prehistoric agricultural practice in Wales. The surviving earthworks remain archaeologically significant for understanding early farming communities and landscape use in the region, despite the passage of more than three thousand years.
Bipartite enclosure 1km SSE of Pen Allt-Mawr, Cwm Banw is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference BR418. View the official record →
Bipartite enclosure 1 km SSE of Pen Allt-Mawr, Cwm Banw is a prehistoric agricultural enclosure located in Wales. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Cadw under reference BR418.
Bipartite enclosure 1km SSE of Pen Allt-Mawr, Cwm Banw dates from the prehistoric period, and is classified as a enclosure - agricultural. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Bipartite enclosure 1km SSE of Pen Allt-Mawr, Cwm Banw 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 BR418.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Llangattock Tramroad Inclines (7.5 km), Coed Pentwyn Hillfort (7.5 km), Defended Enclosure 350m NNW of Ty-Uchaf (8.3 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Bipartite enclosure 1km SSE of Pen Allt-Mawr, Cwm Banw'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.
Bipartite enclosure 1km SSE of Pen Allt-Mawr, Cwm Banw stands on Lower Devonian Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Early Devonian. The rock here is sandstone and conglomerate, interbedded.