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Nant y Gafod Deserted Rural Settlement is a post-medieval and modern farmstead located in Wales, now protected as a scheduled monument by Cadw under reference CD202. The site lies upon bedrock of Llandovery age, comprising interbedded sandstone and conglomerate that would have shaped both the landscape and the practical constraints of farming here. These ancient rocks, formed during the Llandovery period, underlie the soils that supported pastoral and arable activity across this rural holding.
The settlement represents the pattern of dispersed farmsteads characteristic of the Welsh countryside from the medieval period onwards. Such holdings typically combined subsistence farming with pastoral husbandry, making use of the local stone for buildings and field boundaries. The Llandovery bedrock would have provided ready material for construction, visible in the field walls and farm buildings that define the archaeological site.
As a deserted settlement, Nant y Gafod now survives as earthworks and structural remains scattered across its landscape. The monument's protection recognises its value in understanding rural settlement patterns, agricultural practice and the social organisation of the Welsh countryside during the post-medieval and modern periods. The site offers insight into how families adapted to this particular terrain and geology to sustain their livelihoods.
Nant y Gafod Deserted Rural Settlement is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference CD202. View the official record →
Nant y Gafod Deserted Rural Settlement is a post-medieval and modern farmstead located in Wales, now protected as a scheduled monument by Cadw under reference CD202.
Nant y Gafod Deserted Rural Settlement dates from the post medieval/modern period, and is classified as a farmstead. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Nant y Gafod 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 CD202.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Ffos Gau Ring Cairn (0.5 km), Hafod yr Abad Deserted Rural Settlement (0.7 km), Craig y Lluest cairn cemetery (0.9 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Nant y Gafod 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.
Nant y Gafod Deserted Rural Settlement stands on Llandovery Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Llandovery. The rock here is sandstone and conglomerate, interbedded.