© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Cadw
Coed Pen-y-Bryn Defended Settlement is a prehistoric enclosure located in Wales, protected as a scheduled monument under Cadw reference ME266. The site occupies ground underlain by Upper Cambrian bedrock of the Tremadocian age, comprising mudstone, siltstone and sandstone formations that date back over 500 million years. This ancient geological foundation provided a stable base for human settlement in the prehistoric period.
The defended settlement takes the form of an enclosure, a defensive structure typical of prehistoric communities in Wales. Such enclosures served multiple purposes, including protection of inhabitants and livestock, storage of goods, and definition of territorial boundaries. The construction of defensive works indicates a community with sufficient social organisation and labour resources to undertake substantial earthworks.
The monument remains an important archaeological record of prehistoric settlement patterns and social organisation in Wales. Its preservation under Cadw protection ensures that the physical remains and the geological context of this settlement continue to be available for study and understanding of how prehistoric communities adapted to and utilised the Welsh landscape during the Iron Age or earlier periods of habitation.
Coed Pen-y-Bryn Defended Settlement is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference ME266. View the official record →
Coed Pen-y-Bryn Defended Settlement is a prehistoric enclosure located in Wales, protected as a scheduled monument under Cadw reference ME266.
Coed Pen-y-Bryn Defended Settlement dates from the prehistoric period, and is classified as a enclosure - defensive. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Coed Pen-y-Bryn Defended Settlement 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 ME266.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Pentre Farm Barrow (0.6 km), Tal y Waen cairns (4.1 km), Maes Coch Deserted Rural Settlement (4.4 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Coed Pen-y-Bryn Defended Settlement'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.
Coed Pen-y-Bryn Defended Settlement stands on Upper Cambrian, Including Tremadoc, bedrock that formed in the Tremadocian. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.