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Pillow Mounds at Pant Mawr is a post-medieval and modern earthwork that sits on Millstone Grit Group bedrock. This geological foundation of mudstone, siltstone and sandstone was laid down during the Namurian period, giving the site underlying strata typical of upland Wales. The earthworks themselves represent a later phase of land management, constructed to improve drainage and cultivation on what would have been marginal or waterlogged ground.
Pillow mounds are distinctive ridge-and-furrow formations created by deliberately heaping earth and spoil into elongated mounds. At Pant Mawr, these features served the practical purpose of raising the land surface, allowing water to drain away into the surrounding furrows and making the ground workable for agriculture or stock management. The technique was widely employed across Britain from medieval times onwards, with many examples dating to the post-medieval period when population pressure drove intensification of land use.
The monument is protected by Cadw under reference BR173, recognising its significance as a record of historical land improvement practices. The ridges and furrows visible at Pant Mawr demonstrate how communities adapted their local landscape to suit their economic needs, using simple but effective earthmoving to combat the wet conditions inherent in upland terrain. These earthworks form part of the broader pattern of field management visible across Welsh moorland and hill country.
Pillow Mounds at Pant Mawr is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference BR173. View the official record →
Pillow Mounds at Pant Mawr is a post-medieval and modern earthwork that sits on Millstone Grit Group bedrock. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Cadw under reference BR173.
Pillow Mounds at Pant Mawr dates from the post medieval/modern period, and is classified as a pillow mound. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Pillow Mounds at Pant Mawr 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 BR173.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Remains of Blast Furnaces at Banwen (3.5 km), Section of Road NE of Coelbren Fort (3.6 km), Coelbren Fort (3.7 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Pillow Mounds at Pant Mawr'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.
Pillow Mounds at Pant Mawr stands on Millstone Grit Group [See Also Migr], bedrock that formed in the Namurian. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.