Wales is essentially an upland country where mountains and moorlands are the dominant components of the rural scene. The form and character of these landscapes are the consequence of a long history of change. Their distinctiveness is the result of complex interaction between the natural environment and human intervention. Based on the results of an archaeological field survey, this book attempts to unravel the many strands in the evolution of one particular upland area of South Wales, Mynydd Du and Fforest Fawr, part of the Brecon Beacons National Park. The history of human activity in this area can be traced back to the earliest stages of climatic warming after the end of the last Ice Age when Mesolithic hunters followed migrating herds onto the less densely wooded high ground. Seasonal visiting was continued by early farmers until, from the beginning of the Bronze Age, more intensive patterns of land use emerged. After the end of the Roman military presence evidence for mainly seasonal occupation once again becomes widespread, during the Medieval and Post-Medieval periods. This was followed by the intensive exploitation of the area's mineral wealth during the Industrial Revolution and after, giving rise to some of the most dramatic features of the present-day landscape.

This study provides evidence of a widespread settlement pattern that existed in an upland area of the Eastern Massif of the Black Mountains in South-East Wales, now sparsely populated, and that they can be dated from the late medieval and early post-medieval periods respectively.

This is a history of the moorlands and the part they have played in English and Welsh history over ten millennia. Ian Simmons combines the perspectives of natural science, archaeology, social history and historical geography, and draws on forty years of exploring and studying the moorlands. Starting with a description of their origins and how they have changed under the impact of human and natural forces, Simmons shows how perceptions of the moors have been influenced by writers, artists and the media (and how they have been inspired by the moors), and how these perceptions have resulted in great changes in attitudes to moorland use and management. The book begins by offering some concise understanding of the physical and natural characteristics of moorlands. It then gives an account of how hunter-gatherers of the Mesolithic period altered their surroundings using fire. It describes how millennia of agricultural production wrought distinctive moorland landscapes and how these in turn were affected and sometimes transformed by industrialisation, afforestation and changes in farming methods. The renewed impetus in the twentieth century for environmental management and conservation brings the story near to the present. The North Pennines, Dartmoor and South Wales are the subject of detailed accounts that reveal the common characteristics of the moorlands as well as their marked contrasts. Beyond the recent crises of overgrazing and the 2001 foot and mouth outbreak, Ian Simmons lays out some possible futures for the moors.

Assembling leading experts on the subject, this account explores the circumstances surrounding the disappearance of thousands of villages and smaller settlements in England and Wales between 1340 and 1750. By revisiting the deserted villages, this breakthrough study addresses questions that have plagued archaeologists, geographers, and historians since the 1940s--including why they were deserted, why some villages survived while others were abandoned, and who was responsible for their desertion--offering a series of exciting insights into the fate of these fascinating sites.

Wales is dominated by its upland landscapes, a vast treasure trove of archaeology and heritage, where the exceptional survival of evidence for the lives of people across millennia makes these fascinating places of international importance. The uplands of Mynydd Du and Fforest Fawr cover some 270 square kilometres and have long attracted visitors keen to experience the spectacular mountain scenery of the Western Brecon Beacons. Extensive fieldwork has revealed archaeological riches in this area that belie its perceived emptiness. These mountains and moorland conceal a long history of human activity dating back to the end of the Ice Age. The landscape today still tells the story of the economic importance of these uplands across the millennia and the constantly changing social, economic and climate conditions experienced by the people who lived here. Founded in 1908, the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales is the investigating body and national archive for the Welsh historic environment. Its Upland Archaeology Initiative is a Wales wide fieldwork programme to identify and record upland heritage. David Leighton is a senior investigator with the Royal Commission and project manager of the Uplands Archaeological Initiative.

Cyfrol ddarluniadol llawn a chynhwysfawr yn dangos ôl ymchwil trylwyr yn cynnwys cyfoeth o wybodaeth am hanes adeiladau o darddiad canol oesol ym Maesyfed. Dros 600 llun du-a-gwyn, 5 llun lliw a 15 map. -- Cyngor Llyfrau Cymru