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Is this a cursus ? Powys

Submitted by sem on Wednesday, 04 May 2005  Page Views: 4488

Neolithic and Bronze Age

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Country: Wales County: Powys Type: Cursus

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Nant Tarw (Foel Darw)
Nant Tarw (Foel Darw) submitted by sem : Could this be a cursus ? It overlooks Nant Tarw stone circles and appears to form an approach route to them. I can find no archaeological reference to it whatsoever. SN823257 (Vote or comment on this photo)
Further to the article on the enigmatic cursus,I realised that I had seen this feature to the NE of Nant Tarw stone circles. It is mentioned in no archaeological database that I have used and is located at SN823257 overlooking the circles.

Walking along it down the hill, it appears to form an approach route to them but is not aligned with them or any other discernible feature. It could be associated with the Medieval farm system here but does not appear to serve any useful purpose in this respect. Whether it extends beyond the hill (Foel Darw) I intend to discover.
Any assistance in ascertaining what it might be,would be very much appreciated.
SEM
Contributor Bio for sem: Based in Bridgend,S.Wales, contributing since 2003. Favourite site: Carreg Cadno. Occupation: Retired.

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"Is this a cursus ?" | Login/Create an Account | 6 News and Comments
  
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Re: Is this a cursus ? by Anonymous on Wednesday, 16 November 2005
Don't forget at the time of the Napoleonic Wars there was a lot of early industrial trackways up that way (limestone quarrying mostly).
The only possible cursus in Powys that I am aware of is just to the North of Three Cocks (Hay-on-Wye way). And that would appear to be almost exactly where the railway tracks used to be.
elderford
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Re: Is this a cursus ? by Anonymous on Saturday, 07 May 2005
Hi, looks like modern drainage for some sort of agriculture. Not sure about this part of the world but was the area ever used for forestry?
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Re: Is this a cursus ? by sem on Wednesday, 04 May 2005
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The ditches are about 1ft wide and the same deep. The zig-zags are where the ground is boggy and has reeds, meaning there may have been water erosion here.
The horizontal lines are path along the hillside.
For anyone checking on grid references there lots of medieval farm strips on the valley floor and longhouses close by, but nothing in this specific area.
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    Re: Is this a cursus ? by Thorgrim on Wednesday, 04 May 2005
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    1 ft wide! OK - forget about WWI trenches then. Drainage ditches? Odd that they are parallel though. Got me stumped!
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Re: Is this a cursus ? by TimPrevett on Wednesday, 04 May 2005
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Hi there Sem; I've also just checked the archaeology data service which records nothing relating to cursus monuments in the area.Doing a 2km diameter search on your grid refs, at SN 819 259 is recorded a post-mediaeval enclosure, but nothing more said on it! Cheers, Tim.
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Re: Is this a cursus ? by Thorgrim on Wednesday, 04 May 2005
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Could be, but just from the photograph, the ditches look fairly recent and sharp without much sediment/infill. I can see a few zig-zags too and I wonder if perhaps they are not military training trenches from World War I. There are two quiet short stretches near me and they were dug by recruits before being sent to France. Dunno - just a thought. What are the lines going across the picture? Looks like a giant "noughts and crosses" grid.
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