Solitary boulder, on north-facing slope above tributary of Afon Ystwyth, at the county boundary between Ceredigion and Powys (Montgomeryshire). bearing carving on flat face of what appears to be a sheep's head. Carving measures 24cm high by 30cm across and depicts animal head with tufts of wool on forehead and ears, in simple line style. There are marks of quarry chisels across the top of the boulder, and other signs of quarrying nearby. The carving is undated but may be related to local sheparding activity. Identified by T. Driver in the late 1990s and photographed and traced in 2006.

The carving occurs on the face of a rectangular boulder, lying naturally on the southern side of the valley of the Afon Ystwyth, very close to its upland source and some 170m east of its confluence with the Afon Diliw. The Ystwyth at this spot is a narrow, rocky stream set down in a steep-sided valley within boggy moorland surroundings, and below and to the north of the present minor road from Cwmystwyth to the Elan Valley. While rather desolate today, the carving lies some 320m south of the scheduled deserted rural settlement of Hafod yr Abad (CD 203; PRNs 35163-5) which is thought to have medieval origins. In addition, an old road passes to the south, just above the present-day road, preserved today as an earthwork terrace. The pass has no doubt long been used by shepherds, drovers and miners. It is interesting to note that even today, when the carving was visited in 2006, there were traces of bonfires and beer cans nearby suggesting the valley is still used for shelter or rest.

The carving sits mid-way down on a rectangular boulder, one of many along the sides and base of this boulder-strewn river valley. The boulder has a smooth, slightly dished face. There are marks of quarry chisels or wedges in a line across the top of the boulder, and other signs of quarrying nearby. The carving is quite deeply made in the surface of the boulder, and competently executed, leading one to conclude that the act was both deliberate and reasonably skilled.

The carving of the main face measures 19cm across, from tip of the nose to jowl, and nearly 25m from top to bottom (jowl to tip of ear). The eye measures 4cm across. The natural contours of the boulder appear to have been exploited and enhanced to suggest the neck and body of the animal; a neck and back line are certainly suggested by lines of spalls and the possibility of additional carving. A wider view of the carving on the boulder face shows natural undulations below the animal head to fore and aft, almost suggestive of front and hind legs in a leaping pose. Perhaps the original form of the boulder face invited an accentuation of natural shapes with the animal head carving.

The nature of the animal represented has caused some speculation. The author's initial thought was that it represented a shepherd's carving of a sheep, with woolly tufts on its forehead and pronounced jowls. Erwyd Howells, the regional authority on shepherding and collector of information on shepherd's carvings in mountain regions, concluded that it was a deer, not a sheep. He also noted that he knew of no other comparable carving in the uplands of mid-Wales, most shepherd's carvings being simple initials. Other suggestions have included a wolf's head, which would certainly be a more iconic beast to depict, and would fit with a wider tradition of wolf or `blaidd' place-names which occur in the uplands of central Wales, particularly in Radnorshire (Richard Suggett, pers. comm.). The carving is undated, but it is covered with established lichens showing it was not made recently. A Georgian has been suggested. The proximity of Hafod yr Abad deserted settlement could suggest a medieval context.

T. Driver, RCAHMW, 7 December 2006