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Hut Circle West of Merthyr Farm is a prehistoric unenclosed hut circle located in Wales and protected by Cadw under reference ME176. The monument consists of a circular or near-circular depression in the ground, a characteristic feature of Iron Age domestic structures in the region. Such hut circles typically represent the remains of roundhouses with sunken floors, their stone or timber walls long since robbed or decayed.
The site sits upon bedrock of Middle Cambrian age, comprising mudstone, siltstone and sandstone deposited over 500 million years ago. This solid geology would have provided a stable foundation for the structure, though the immediate surroundings would have offered limited stone suitable for substantial building. The prehistoric inhabitants would have adapted their construction techniques to the local materials and topography available to them.
Unenclosed hut circles such as this one are found scattered across Welsh upland and moorland landscapes, often occurring in small groups or clusters. Without surrounding defensive works or field systems, they may represent seasonal settlements, transient occupations, or dwellings from communities who relied upon portable wealth and pastoral subsistence. The monument survives today as an earthwork feature, a tangible record of Iron Age settlement patterns in the Welsh countryside.
Hut Circle West of Merthyr Farm is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference ME176. View the official record →
Hut Circle West of Merthyr Farm is a prehistoric unenclosed hut circle located in Wales and protected by Cadw under reference ME176.
Hut Circle West of Merthyr Farm dates from the prehistoric period, and is classified as a unenclosed hut circle. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Hut Circle West of Merthyr Farm 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 ME176.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Bron-y-Foel West Burial Chamber (7.4 km), Enclosure near Bron y Foel, Moelfre (7.8 km), Byrllysg promontory fort (7.9 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Hut Circle West of Merthyr Farm'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.
Hut Circle West of Merthyr Farm stands on Middle Cambrian, bedrock that formed in the Middle Cambrian. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.