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Cwm Tywyll House Platforms is a medieval house platform situated on bedrock of Caradoc Rocks, comprising mudstone, siltstone and sandstone formed during the Caradocian period. The platform represents the levelled domestic site of a substantial medieval dwelling, with terracing cut into the sloping ground typical of upland settlement in medieval Wales. The underlying geology of mixed lithology would have offered stable foundations for timber or stone structures, though weathering of the softer mudstone and siltstone elements may have influenced drainage and habitability.
The site reflects settlement patterns in what appears to be a moorland or marginal agricultural landscape, where medieval communities adapted their buildings to steep terrain. Such house platforms are commonly found across upland Wales, though each site's relationship to local topography and geology creates distinct archaeological signatures. The Caradoc bedrock here would have limited the depth of foundation trenches, necessitating the horizontal platform construction visible today.
Cwm Tywyll House Platforms is protected as a scheduled monument under Cadw reference DE249, recognising its significance as evidence of medieval settlement and land use in Wales. The site contributes to understanding how medieval communities organised domestic space within challenging upland terrain and how geological conditions shaped their building practices.
Cwm Tywyll House Platforms is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference DE249. View the official record →
Cwm Tywyll House Platforms is a medieval house platform situated on bedrock of Caradoc Rocks, comprising mudstone, siltstone and sandstone formed during the Caradocian period. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Cadw under reference DE249.
Cwm Tywyll House Platforms dates from the medieval period, and is classified as a house platform. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Cwm Tywyll House Platforms 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 DE249.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Cwm Rhiwiau Stone Circle (3.6 km), Rhos-y-Beddau Stone Circle, Avenue and Cairn (3.9 km), Afon Disgynfa Cairn (4.9 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Cwm Tywyll House Platforms'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.
Cwm Tywyll House Platforms stands on Caradoc Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Caradocian. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.