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Maes Coch Deserted Rural Settlement is a medieval rectangular hut settlement in Wales, protected by Cadw under reference ME196. The site lies on bedrock of Ordovician mafic lava and tuff, which forms the underlying geology of this upland region. This volcanic basement shaped the landscape and soil conditions that medieval communities would have exploited for pastoral and agricultural use.
The settlement comprises rectangular stone-built structures typical of Welsh medieval rural occupation. Such settlements were common across upland Wales, where dispersed farming communities lived at greater elevations than their English counterparts. The rectangular plan of the huts reflects medieval building practices adapted to difficult terrain and the needs of pastoral farming in exposed locations.
Deserted rural settlements of this type were frequently abandoned during the late medieval period, when economic pressures, population changes and shifting land use patterns caused communities to relocate or consolidate. Maes Coch's preservation in the archaeological record provides evidence of settlement patterns, building techniques and land management in medieval Wales. The site's survival on relatively unimproved upland ground has allowed the hut remains to persist with minimal disturbance.
Maes Coch Deserted Rural Settlement is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference ME196. View the official record →
Maes Coch Deserted Rural Settlement is a medieval rectangular hut settlement in Wales, protected by Cadw under reference ME196.
Maes Coch Deserted Rural Settlement dates from the medieval period, and is classified as a rectangular hut settlement. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Maes Coch Deserted Rural 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 ME196.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Maes Coch Hut Circles (0.1 km), Anti-invasion Defences 2000m NE of Cwmrhwyddfor Farm (2.1 km), Llyn Gafr Standing Stone (3.2 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Maes Coch Deserted Rural 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.
Maes Coch Deserted Rural Settlement stands on Unnamed Extrusive Rocks, Ordovician, bedrock that formed in the Ordovician. The rock here is mafic lava and mafic tuff.