Scheduled MonumentsWalesCefn Clawdd Early Settlement and Fields
Prehistoric · Field System

Cefn Clawdd Early Settlement and Fields

Meirionnydd, Wales
Cadw SAM ME130
Period
Prehistoric
Site type
Field System
Broad class
Agriculture and Subsistence
Nation
Wales
The designation
Reference
Cadw SAM ME130
Authority
Cadw
Designated
1991-11-25
Boundary

Scheduled area

© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Cadw

Overview

History & significance

Cefn Clawdd Early Settlement and Fields is a prehistoric field system located in Wales and protected by Cadw under reference ME130. The site preserves evidence of organised land use spanning multiple periods of prehistoric settlement. The fields and associated settlement structures remain visible in the modern landscape, demonstrating the long-term occupation and agricultural exploitation of this locality.

The monument lies upon bedrock of Lower Cambrian mudstone, siltstone and sandstone, geology that has shaped both the land's character and the settlement's development. These fine-grained sedimentary rocks, formed during the Early Cambrian period, underlie the soils that early farmers would have worked. The particular conditions of this terrain influenced where fields were laid out and how they were maintained over generations.

Cefn Clawdd's field boundaries and settlement remains constitute an important record of prehistoric rural life in Wales. The site demonstrates how early communities organised their agricultural landscape, establishing patterns of land division and use that in some cases influenced later settlement patterns. The preservation of these field systems allows archaeologists to understand prehistoric farming practices, settlement organisation and the relationship between communities and their environment during the prehistoric period.

Cefn Clawdd Early Settlement and Fields is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference ME130. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Cefn Clawdd Early Settlement and Fields?

Cefn Clawdd Early Settlement and Fields is a prehistoric field system located in Wales and protected by Cadw under reference ME130.

What period does Cefn Clawdd Early Settlement and Fields date from?

Cefn Clawdd Early Settlement and Fields dates from the prehistoric period, and is classified as a field system. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.

Who is responsible for protecting Cefn Clawdd Early Settlement and Fields?

Cefn Clawdd Early Settlement and Fields 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 ME130.

What other scheduled monuments are near Cefn Clawdd Early Settlement and Fields?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Maen Llwyd Standing Stones (1.9 km), Roman Kilns 225m SE of Pen-y-Stryd (4.2 km), Hut Circle Settlement at Crawcwellt South (4.4 km).

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Everything a full report reveals about Cefn Clawdd Early Settlement and Fields

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Cefn Clawdd Early Settlement and Fields'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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The ground beneath

The bedrock under Cefn Clawdd Early Settlement and Fields

Cefn Clawdd Early Settlement and Fields stands on Lower Cambrian Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Early Cambrian. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.