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Pont Maesgwm is a deserted rural settlement located in Wales, now protected as a Scheduled Monument under Cadw reference ME193. The site lies on bedrock formed from Llanvirn rocks of the Whiterock series, composed predominantly of mudstone, siltstone and sandstone. These resilient sedimentary deposits underlie the settlement and would have influenced both the drainage patterns and building construction methods employed by its medieval inhabitants.
The settlement represents the physical remains of a rural community that occupied this landscape during the medieval period, before being abandoned. Such deserted settlements across Wales mark significant shifts in population distribution, land use and economic organisation during the later medieval centuries. The archaeological evidence preserved at Pont Maesgwm, visible in earthworks and potentially subsurface deposits, provides important testimony to the pattern of human settlement and agricultural activity in the Welsh countryside.
The site's designation under Cadw protection reflects its historical significance as a record of medieval rural life in Wales. The underlying geology, with its sequence of mudstones and siltstones, would have produced soils and hydrological conditions distinctive to this locality, shaping how medieval communities farmed and settled here. Pont Maesgwm thus remains an important archaeological resource for understanding medieval Welsh rural society and landscape change.
Pont Maesgwm Deserted Rural Settlement is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference ME193. View the official record →
Pont Maesgwm is a deserted rural settlement located in Wales, now protected as a Scheduled Monument under Cadw reference ME193.
Pont Maesgwm Deserted Rural Settlement dates from the medieval period, and is classified as a deserted rural settlement. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Pont Maesgwm 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 ME193.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Y Gyrn Round Cairns (8.2 km), Hut Circles East of Moel Geifr (8.4 km), Bryn Cader-Faner Round Cairn (8.8 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Pont Maesgwm 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.
Pont Maesgwm Deserted Rural Settlement stands on Llanvirn Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Whiterock. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.