Archaeology of Moel Faban

Not long after my adventure with Neolithic axes I saw another archaeological event advertised. This time it was just a guided walk, and it was right in my back garden. It involves the archaeology of basically my main running ground; Moel Faban. I hoped to learn things about it so I could pass by archaeological features I would know something about every time I would run there! The person leading it would be John, the man I had met several times before, and who I keep bugging with questions about the Roman Road. So I registered. And it would be entirely in Welsh. I consider that a good thing!

Closer to the time there was an email about that the weather might not be good enough. We would be kept updated! And when I saw a forecast of wind gusts of up to 40 mph I thought it might get cancelled. But it wasn't! So I biked up on a Sunday morning, and already saw a little crew when I was parking my bike. I also noticed the historian who had lead a historical walk nearby park up. I didn't expect him! But always good to have a historian on board. 

We were a small group. Janet from the climbing club was there too. We set off to Tan y Bwlch, and from there we started to walk around the hill. John pointed out an old defended settlement, remnants of roundhouses and longhouses, and traces of mediaeval ridge and furrow farming. 

Later we followed the path I use for biking down on my standard hill biking loop (we can't call this mountain biking) to go up on the far side of Bwlch ym Mhwll-le, and there we saw burial mounds. And a beautiful sheepfold! One of the participants of the walk, Nigel, was actually the man who had given a public lecture about sheepfolds. So we had quite some expertise in the group! 

Walking under a dramatic sky

John the archaeologist gesturing with Martin the historian looking on

On the other side of the hill we saw some burnt mounds. These are places where water has been heated by lighting a fire, having stones in the fire, and then dropping the stones in the water. John suggested the water might have been used for boiling large amount of meat, like half a pig or something like that. But there are other options as well; they might also have been used as saunas. The actual mounds are the result of the stones, many of them shattered from cold shock, being periodically cleared out of the depression where the water was held, and thrown onto a mound.

The original idea had been to walk back by completing the loop, but that would mean being quite exposed to the wind. We decided not to go with that! We just retraced our steps. And shortly after noon we were back at our vehicles.

I learned something again! We had not been able to look at that mounds at the top of the hill, as it was likely we would get blown off. But it was good! And by now I really wanted lunch!