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Brechfa: Concentric Cropmark Enclosure North-West of

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NPRN401988
Map ReferenceSN02SE
Grid ReferenceSN0943322461
Unitary (Local) AuthorityPembrokeshire
Old CountyPembrokeshire
CommunityMaenclochog
Type Of SiteDEFENDED ENCLOSURE
PeriodIron Age
Description
A later Prehistoric type settlement enclosure is known from the cropmarks of its ditches. This is one of three ostensibly similar cropmark enclosures found on the massif around Brechfa.
The monument consists of a roughly oval ditched inner enclosure about 60m north-east to south-west by 50m, set rather off-centre within a vast sub-circular enclosure about 225m across. Both have north-east facing entrances, the outer in-turned, and these are linked by the blurred mark of what appears to be a holloway that may originally have been embanked. The holloway extends nearly 100m beyond the outer entrance. The outer enclosure is draped across the summit and west to north-west facing upper slopes of a ridgetop, with the inner enclosure apparently occupying a sloping site. The entrances and the holloway are oriented towards the narrow saddle that provides easy access to the massif from the north.

This enclosure is very similar to that south of Brechfa (NPRN 401987), both having relatively small inner enclosures set within much larger outer circuits. The southern enclosure also seems to be concerned with access to the massif, focussing on the easiest southern approach. The third concentric enclosure (NPRN 309502) is rather different, both in its form and location, and is not necessarily contemporary or functionally compatible.

Source: Driver 'Pembrokeshire: Historic Landscapes from the Air' RCAHMW (2007), 166-7

John Wiles 15.01.08