Waun Ddu Fortlet (Mynydd Myddfai)

Marching or Temporary Camp

The Waun Ddu fortlet (NGR SN82063104) on Mynydd Myddfai is a small Roman military site positioned on a spur between two tributary streams of the Afon Gwydderig, overlooking Hafod Fawr and lying about half a mile west of the Y Pigwn marching camps. First mentioned in Archaeologia Cambrensis in 1854 (p.129), it was described as an outpost for the Y Pigwn forts “a quarter of a mile distant.” Later interpretations debated whether the mound in its northern corner represented a Norman motte inserted into a Roman fortlet, or whether the entire enclosure was in fact a medieval motte and bailey (Scheduled Ancient Monument file CM 194, 1961 onwards). Measuring about 121 by 116 feet (c.36.9 × 35.4 m) within the ramparts, it enclosed just under one-third of an acre (c.0.13 ha). The rampart and ditch measured around 14 and 12 feet wide respectively (c.4.26 × 3.66 m), though today the bank rises only to about 1 m above the exterior and 0.3 m above the interior. Its roughly square plan, with rounded corners to the east, south, and west, matches standard Roman military practice, while the mound in the north corner rises about 1 m above the interior.

The fortlet occupied a highly strategic position, with the main Roman road from Brecon Gaer to Llandovery passing just east of the defences, skirting its north and west sides as it descended Trecastle Hill. From here, the garrison enjoyed a far-reaching view of the road’s approach to Llandovery, enabling close monitoring of troop and supply movement. The site was incorrectly marked on OS Landranger Map 160 as a Roman fort and labelled on Haverfield’s map as an outpost. No ditch survives around the enclosure or mound, and later activity—including cutting by trackways to the north and east—has obscured parts of the original layout. Today, the fortlet sits within rough heath dotted with gorse, a modest but significant reminder of the Roman inland road system later known as the Via Julia Montana (Margary 62–64). Its reuse as a Norman motte (tomen) demonstrates how this naturally defensible spur retained military and strategic value across centuries, even if it is curiously absent from the RCAHMW Brecknock inventory.

Sites near Waun Ddu Fortlet (Mynydd Myddfai)

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