Brecon Beacons National Park Sites & Monuments Record
Area covered by the Brecon Beacons National Park Sites &
Monuments Record (dark green)
The Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust maintains the Brecon Beacons National Park Sites and Monuments Record on behalf of, and in partnership with, the Brecon Beacons National Park Authority and Powys County Council. This local record, which is part of the Powys Sites and Monuments Record, is one element of the Regional Sites and Monuments Record, maintained by CPAT, which covers the unitary authorities of Denbighshire, Flintshire, Wrexham and the eastern part of Conwy (which from 1974 to 1996 formed the county of Clwyd), and the unitary authority of Powys, which includes most of the National Park. This regional SMR deals with an area of some 7,500 square kilometres of north-east and central Wales, ranging in character from the open uplands of the Cambrian Mountains and the Brecon Beacons, to the rich river valleys of the Severn and the Clwyd. At present the regional SMR contains over 38,000 records, reflecting the wealth and diversity of the region's historic landscape. Sites recorded range in date from the Palaeolithic to the twentieth century, and include extensive funerary and ritual complexes of the Neolithic and Bronze Age, dramatic chains of Iron Age hillforts, the settlements, roads and forts of the Romans, and the farms, villages, castles and churches of Wales' Dark Age and Medieval kingdoms - interspersed with those of her English neighbours.
When CPAT was formed in 1974 one of its primary objectives was the creation of an SMR. Initially this drew on basic sources such as the records of the Ordnance Survey, the Inventories of the Royal Commission on Ancient and Historical Monuments in Wales and information in Wales' National Monuments Record. Over time, programmes of excavation, survey, aerial photography and other research, by CPAT and others, have expanded and augmented the record. Today the SMR comprises many elements, from computer databases and digital surveys to historic maps, 25 years worth of excavation and survey archives and over 30,000 aerial and 40,000 terrestrial photographs. CPAT would always recommend that extra information, such as this, is consulted in addition to the computer record shown here. If you are carrying out research or fieldwork in our area, we would be pleased to provide information and assistance, if we can, and in turn to receive any results of this work for the SMR.
The SMR is used for a variety of purposes, such as advising local authorities on the implications of proposals for building development, providing heritage management advice to organisations and individuals and answering enquiries from both private and professional researchers. CPAT and its SMR partners have always been keen to increase the use made of the SMR and to promote better access to information about Wales' historic environment. Making data available to the Archaeology Data Service is seen as one way of doing this, and the following data fields have been made available on-line.
- Name of resource: The name of the site (or monument) being recorded.
Taken from CPAT's SMR Name field. - Description: A text description of the site. This is cumulative, and
of variable quantity and quality, with each new piece of information being
added to the end of the previous one. Where possible entries are
cross-referenced to one or more of the listed Bibliographical references.
Taken from CPAT's SMR Description field. - Project Date(s): The earliest and latest dates of recorded archaeological events relating to the site.
Taken from CPAT's SMR Event Date field. - Drawn from: The County SMR from which the site record is drawn.
Derived from CPAT's SMR Unitary Authority and Local Planning Authority fields. - Bibliographical references: Sources from which the site record is compiled.
Derived from CPAT's Bibliographical database. - Record maintainers: The Regional SMR is maintained by the Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust.
- Map reference: Ordnance Survey National Grid Reference for the site being recorded. Here,
this is has been reduced to 100 metre precision (or less).
Taken from CPAT's SMR National Grid Reference field. - Subject: The initial subject of each record given here is compiled from the SMR form and
class fields, for example Earthwork, Military. The second subject,
which here is tied to and preceded by a Period entry, is compiled from the
SMR site type field, for example Hillfort or House. Within the
CPAT SMR a site type is always tied to a related period entry. Up to three
site types (subjects) may be given here as ranked alternative interpretations
of the site. The preferred site type is given first.
Taken from CPAT's SMR Site Type 1, Site Type 2 or Site Type 3 fields. - Period: An archaeological period relating to each of the stated site types, for example
Bronze Age, Medieval. These are broadly similar to the MIDAS standard used in
England but may have slightly different time spans.
Taken from CPAT's SMR Period 1, Period 2 or Period 3 fields. - Intervention Type: An archaeological intervention recorded in the SMR. For example Excavation, Visit, Survey, etc.
Taken from CPAT's SMR Event field. - Intervention Dates: The date of a given archaeological intervention.
Taken from CPAT's SMR Event Date or Event Year field. - Place: The general location of the site or monument being recorded (where applicable).
Taken from CPAT's SMR Location or Name fields. - Community: The community, an administrative division of a Unitary Authority equivalent to an
English parish, in which the recorded site or monument lies.
Taken from CPAT's SMR Community field. - District/Unitary Authority: The Unitary Authority area in which the site or monument being
recorded lies. Unitary Authorities replaced both County and District
Councils throughout Wales in 1996.
Taken from CPAT's SMR Unitary Authority field. - County: A name commonly used to refer to a Welsh Unitary Authority. Taken from CPAT's SMR Unitary Authority field.
- Resource Identifiers (Depositor ID): A unique numeric identifier
given to each record in the SMR. Please quote this in any correspondence or
queries.
Taken from CPAT's SMR Primary Record Number field. - Record last checked: The date on which the record was last edited or updated.
Taken from CPAT's SMR Compiled On or Last Updated fields.
The data used here was downloaded from CPAT's Regional SMR on 23rd October 2000. It is hoped that new (and better edited) data fields will be available for the next release.
As with any record, the SMR can never be definitive and will always have errors and omissions. CPAT makes every effort to rectify this but if you notice mistakes, or have any information that you think ought to be in the our SMR, then please let us know. Inclusion in the SMR is often the first step to preserving a site for future generations - but if we don't know its there we can't protect it. All comments and enquiries can be addressed to the SMR Officer at the contact points given below.
The inclusion of a site in the SMR does not imply any rights of public access. Although some monuments, such as those in the care of Cadw: Welsh Historic Monuments, are 'open to the public' most sites on the SMR lie on private land and anyone wishing to visit these, for any reason, must obtain permission from land owners and tenants first.
CPAT's Regional SMR is one of four such records, maintained by the Welsh Archaeological Trusts, which together cover the whole of Wales. An index to sites in SMR and national heritage records in Wales can be found in CARN (the Core Archaeological Record iNdex) in the on-line databases section of the RCAHMW web site (at www.rcahmw.org.uk). The work of the SMR and the other curatorial services of CPAT, is supported by grant aid from the RCAHMW and Cadw and with help in kind from local authorities. The Regional SMR is produced and maintained by CPAT in partnership with its local authorities. It comprises information from a range of sources, some of which retain copyright of their contribution. In all uses, data from the SMR will remain the copyright of CPAT, its partners in the SMR and any other stated bodies. All information given here is provided on the understanding that it is solely for individual use or private research and must not be copied or otherwise reproduced in the public domain without the expressed permission of the copyright holder(s).
Further information about the SMR and work of the Clwyd Powys Archaeological Trust can be found at our web site.
© The Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust
Contact:
The Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust
7a Church Street
Welshpool
Powys
SY21 7DL
tel. 01938 553670
fax. 01938 552179
email: trust@cpat.org.uk
web site: www.cpat.org.uk