Small enclosed settlement on Fron, 340m west of St John's Church

Reasons for Designation

During the Iron Age and Roman period a variety of settlement types were constructed throughout Britain. Small enclosed settlements consist of discrete areas of occupation, bounded largely or wholly by continuous single or concentric ditches, banks or walls, and palisades. The size of these curvilinear or rectilinear enclosures is generally less than 2ha. They were occupied by a small community, perhaps a single family or several related family groups. In their original form the enclosures contained a single main domestic building, or several clusters of domestic buildings. These structures are normally circular and are often associated with rectangular buildings used for the storage of agricultural produce. Small enclosed settlements became common features in the landscape during the second half of the first millennium BC and throughout the Roman period. They were the dwelling places of people engaged in small-scale farming and craft production. Considerable numbers of small enclosed settlements are known, but most have been levelled by ploughing. All small enclosed settlements where earthwork or standing structural remains survive are considered to be of national importance.

The small enclosed settlement on Fron is a good example of this class of monument. In common with the other broadly contemporary settlements in the area, it is considered to contain significant buried deposits, structural features, artefactual and organic remains, which have the potential to illustrate many aspects of life during the Iron Age and Roman period. The defences will retain evidence about the nature of their construction and modification. In addition, organic remains surviving in the buried ground surfaces beneath the banks and within the ditch will provide important information about the local environment and the use of the surrounding land before the settlement was built and during its occupation.

Details

The monument includes the earthwork and buried remains of a small enclosed settlement, which is either Iron Age or Romano-British in origin. It occupies a commanding position on the eastern end of a spur to the east of the summit of Fron. From this location there are extensive views of the Clun valley and the surrounding hills. Other small enclosed settlements in the vicinity which are broadly contemporary include an example on Castle Idris, 1km to the west, and Caer-Din Ring, 2.5km to the north west. Both of these settlements are the subject of separate schedulings.

The enclosed settlement on Fron takes the form of a sub-rectangular enclosure. Its overall dimensions are approximately 82m south west-north east by 105m north west-south east, and its internal area is about 0.32ha. The earthworks which define the interior of the settlement consist of a bank, constructed of earth and stone, an external ditch, and an outer (counterscarp) bank. With the exception of the north western side the internal bank is between 5m and 7m wide. Its outer face is a pronounced scarp between 2m and 2.8m high, but the top and inner face of the bank have been reduced in height by ploughing. Former cultivation ridges, post-dating the settlement, run across the interior and are aligned north west-south east. A much larger bank has been constructed to define the north western side of the interior, which faces a gentle rise to the summit of Fron to the north west. It is between 13m and 15m wide, and is just over 3m high externally and 1.8m internally. This bank appears to be a later feature overlying the original smaller bank on the north western side. The width of the ditch on all four sides varies from 4m to 5.5m. Along much of the north eastern side it has become infilled as a result of later cultivation but will survive as a buried feature. On the north western side the ditch has a sharp profile, which supports the suggestion that the defences along this side were remodelled at a later date. Along the top outer edge of the ditch the steep rock-cut face is still plainly visible. Along the south eastern and south western sides, and around the northern corner, earth and stone have been deposited next to the outer edge of the ditch to form a counterscarp bank. It is between 3m and 4m wide and stands up to 0.8m high. The original entrance into the settlement appears to be at the southern corner, where there is a causeway across the ditch and a gap between the banks on the north western and south western sides.

All gate and fence posts, and a garden seat, are excluded from the scheduling, although the ground beneath them is included.

MAP EXTRACT The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract. It includes a 2 metre boundary around the archaeological features, considered to be essential for the monument's support and preservation.

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

34939

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Other
Clwyd Powys Archaeological Trust, (1990)

End of official list entry

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