A settlement, 385m-405m above sea level, strung either side of the Nant y griafolen river and comprising of at least seven rectangular hut foundations and associated rectilinear and curvilinear earthwork enclosures. Excavation in 1973-74 examined five of the hut foundations, as well as large areas of enclosure, in which three contemporary middens were located. These produced substantial quantities of glazed pottery and metal artefacts, which date the occupation of the site to the 15th or 16th centuries AD.

The site has been interpreted as a hafod, the summer base of a transhumance circuit, where cattle and sheep were brought to graze on higher pastures in the spring before moving back to the main home situated at lower levels in the autumn. The stream side location and good water supply would have been essential for watering of stock and making butter and cheese. The huts were very much temporary structures built of locally available materials and providing the minimum of shelter; belongings would have been brought and returned to the main home.

Louise Barker, RCAHMW, September 2009

Sources
Allen, D 1979 Excavations at Hafod y Nant Criafolen, Brenig Valley, Clwyd 1973-74. Post Medieval Archaeology 13
Lynch, F 1993 Excavations in the Brenig Valley. A Mesolithic and Bronze Age Landscape in North Wales. Cambrian Archaeological Monograph No. 5.