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Fforest yr Esgob (the Bishop's Forest) |
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Rural Settlements are being studied by numerous archaeologists in Wales.
In the last decade or so it has become apparent that the Welsh uplands
contain a wealth of evidence in the form of simple habitations, many of
which survive only as low stony earthworks. The siting is often in narrow
valleys close to streams. Their simple form has lead some archaeologists
to suggest that they are medieval in date - perhaps originating during
the period of massive population increase in the 13th century. However
it is certain that these uplands were again heavily settled during the
first half of the 19th century, as a result of pressures to grow more crops
during the Napoleonic Wars and then as a result of the Enclosure Movement.
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Fforest yr Esgob
lies in the corner of Llanddewi Brefi parish in SE Ceredigion right on
the borders of Carmarthenshire and Breconshire. From at least the high
Middle Ages it was part of the estates of the Bishop of  St.
David's. Today this beautiful and remote area is only partly afforested
and has large areas of moorland worked by two sheep farms. We have been
undertaking an archaeological survey of the area since 1995, studying the
evidence for what was once a more densely settled landscape of upland farmsteads,
possibly transhumant habitations, and also early lead mines.
In the fourteenth century there were 15 timber buildings in the forest,
and it is assumed that most of these were habitations used by upland farmers
tending cattle. The forest, as well as producing honey, had a mill, a lead
mine and could support about 240 cattle. The form of these
Within our study area, we have recorded and planned over
40 habitations ranging from simple single-celled rectangular earthworks
to developed farmsteads with medieval halls at their core. By studying
the plans of these, and the rich documentary and place-name evidence, we
hope to
To find out more about Welsh archaeology including work on the Uplands,
see the Royal Commission's web site:
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habitations cannot as yet be known with any certainty, because simple earthwork
structures, such as the one shown to the right, were still in use
in the 1840s. Therefore the simplest form of building cannot be taken as
evidence for great age. Indeed we have to assume that there is a high probability
that the farms that survive, 
or
were in use, earlier this century, may be medieval or at least early, because
they are on the best sites.One such is the site at Dinas (left). This appears
to have a medieval hall at its core. There are people living today who
are descendants of the last farmers who lived here.
explain the development of land-use in the forest. The richness of the
sources, both archaeological and historical, may provide sufficiently sound
a statistical sample to suggest a chronological typology. It is hoped that
our work will be complete enough for publication by the year 2000.
