Site Record

Circular earthwork bank c. 70m diameter enclosing Castellcadarn farm. The enclosure is sited on a northwest facing hillslope overlooking the Afon Afan between the villages of Cynonville and Duffryn. Enclosure is fossilised into later farm buildings and walls on the north and northwest sides; preserved as a good earthwork bank on the southwest side and preserved as a vestigal earthwork on the southeast side. Possibly a prehistoric defended enclosure, or even a Medieval or later defended settlement. Discovered by D Elliott, Central Register for Air Photography for Wales, from vertical air photos OS 95/082 frame 76 (12 April 1995). T Driver

Despite the place-name, there is very little evidence that this was a castle or any sort of defended enclosure. The site consists of a ruined farmstead of indeterminate age, which has been built on a series of embanked platforms and paddocks with dry-stone revetment walls, and set on a steep hillside. The OS map does mark a curving line around the north quadrant of the farmstead, but this is merely the revetment walls of the buildings and farmyard, which are furthermore on different levels. This split-level aspect of the site may not be apparent from looking at a vertical aerial photograph, but it becomes obvious when seen nearer ground-level. More importantly, the steepness of the hillside renders this location totally unsuitable for any defensive purpose. Paul R Davis, 2015