© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Cadw
Craig y Llysiau is a prehistoric enclosure sited on a hilltop in Wales, where evidence of early occupation survives within earthwork defences. The monument sits on bedrock composed of Ashgill rocks—mudstone, siltstone and sandstone deposited during the Ashgill period—which would have shaped both the landscape and the working of the land by its earliest inhabitants. This geological foundation, characteristic of Welsh upland terrain, provided the stone resources available to those who constructed and occupied the site.
The enclosure comprises banks and ditches that define and protect the settlement area, typical of defensive strategies employed during prehistory across Britain and Ireland. The earthworks remain substantially visible in the modern landscape, marking where communities once established their dwellings and conducted daily life on this elevated position. The choice of hilltop location would have offered both defensive advantage and broad views across the surrounding terrain.
The site is protected as a scheduled monument under Cadw, the Welsh heritage organisation, registered as BR209. This formal protection recognises the archaeological and historical importance of the settlement remains, preserving the physical evidence of prehistoric occupation for future study and public understanding of early Welsh communities.
Prehistoric Enclosure & Settlement Site on Craig y Llysiau is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference BR209. View the official record →
Craig y Llysiau is a prehistoric enclosure sited on a hilltop in Wales, where evidence of early occupation survives within earthwork defences. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Cadw under reference BR209.
Prehistoric Enclosure & Settlement Site on Craig y Llysiau dates from the prehistoric period, and is classified as a enclosure. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Prehistoric Enclosure & Settlement Site on Craig y Llysiau 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 BR209.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Gorllwyn round cairns (3.8 km), Gurnos ring cairn (4.9 km), Darren round cairn (5.2 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Prehistoric Enclosure & Settlement Site on Craig y Llysiau'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.
Prehistoric Enclosure & Settlement Site on Craig y Llysiau stands on Ashgill Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Ashgill. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.