Scheduled MonumentsWalesDinas Silica Mine
Post Medieval/Modern · Tramroad

Dinas Silica Mine

Breconshire, Wales
Cadw SAM BR229
Period
Post Medieval/Modern
Site type
Tramroad
Broad class
Transport
Nation
Wales
The designation
Reference
Cadw SAM BR229
Authority
Cadw
Designated
2002-03-26
Boundary

Scheduled area

© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Cadw

Overview

History & significance

Dinas Silica Mine is a post-medieval and modern tramroad located in Wales. The site sits upon Millstone Grit Group bedrock, comprising mudstone, siltstone and sandstone deposits laid down during the Namurian period. This geological foundation reflects the industrial geology that made the location valuable for mineral extraction and processing.

The tramroad represents the transport infrastructure essential to silica mining operations from the post-medieval period through the modern era. Such tramroads were purpose-built to move extracted materials and finished products efficiently from the mine workings to distribution points, typically incorporating gradients and track systems designed for the local topography. The Millstone Grit geology would have provided workable stone suitable for industrial silica operations.

The monument is protected by Cadw under reference BR229, acknowledging its historical significance as evidence of Wales's industrial heritage. Silica mining and processing formed an important part of local and regional economies, and the physical remains of associated infrastructure such as tramroads preserve the technological and commercial systems that supported these extractive industries in post-medieval and modern Wales.

Dinas Silica Mine is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference BR229. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Dinas Silica Mine?

Dinas Silica Mine is a post-medieval and modern tramroad located in Wales. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Cadw under reference BR229.

What period does Dinas Silica Mine date from?

Dinas Silica Mine dates from the post medieval/modern period, and is classified as a tramroad. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.

Who is responsible for protecting Dinas Silica Mine?

Dinas Silica Mine 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 BR229.

What other scheduled monuments are near Dinas Silica Mine?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Craig y Bwlch round cairn (5.1 km), Tarren y Bwlch round cairn (5.6 km), Ffos Toncenglau cross ridge dyke (5.8 km).

Unlimited access

Everything a full report reveals about Dinas Silica Mine

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Dinas Silica Mine'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 Dinas Silica Mine

Dinas Silica Mine stands on Millstone Grit Group [See Also Migr], bedrock that formed in the Namurian. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.

The wider landscape

Around Dinas Silica Mine

Caerphilly CastleArchaeological site · ~19.8 miles