List of scheduled monuments in Neath Port Talbot facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Neath Port Talbot County Borough in Wales is full of amazing historical sites! From the south coast all the way up to the edge of the Brecon Beacons, you can find 93 special places called scheduled monuments. These sites are like clues from the past, showing us how people lived long ago.

These monuments are protected by law, meaning it's illegal to dig them up or change them. This protection helps keep our history safe for everyone to learn from. The organization in charge of this is called Cadw, which works with other groups to find and protect these important places.

Exploring Ancient History in Neath Port Talbot
- Prehistoric Wonders: From Stone Age to Iron Age
  - Hillforts: Ancient Fortified Homes
  - Burial Sites and Standing Stones
Roman Times: Military Camps and Forts
Medieval Period: Abbeys, Castles, and Churches
Modern History: Industrial Revolution and Beyond
See also
Images for kids

Exploring Ancient History in Neath Port Talbot

Neath Port Talbot is home to many ancient sites that tell us about the very first people who lived here. These places date back thousands of years!

Prehistoric Wonders: From Stone Age to Iron Age

About 43 of the protected sites are from prehistoric times. This includes the Stone Age, Bronze Age, and Iron Age.

Hillforts: Ancient Fortified Homes

Craig Ty-Isaf Camp is an old hillfort on Mynydd-y-Gaer. It's an oval-shaped area that was once protected by two or three banks. People likely lived here for safety.
Buarth-y-Gaer, Mynydd-y-Gaer is another Iron Age hillfort, about 100 meters wide. It even has a Bronze Age burial mound inside!
Gaer Fawr Camp is an oval enclosure on the northern side of Mynydd y Gaer. It has complex banks and ditches, with five smaller stone piles (cairns) among its defenses.
Pen-y-Castell is a hillfort covered in bracken, with banks and ditches for defense, located above the Cwmafan valley.
Carn Caca Enclosure is a hillfort camp near Melin Court Brook. It has two "hut circles" inside, which are the remains of ancient homes.
Cefn yr Argoed Camp is an oval enclosure in the Afan Argoed Forest Park. It has a wide entrance, possibly for bringing in animals.
Nant Herbert Camp is a circular enclosure, 22 meters wide, also in the Afan Argoed Forest Park.
Tonmawr Camp is a banked enclosure overlooking the Afon Cynffig. It's similar to the nearby Caer Cwmphilip.
Caer Cwmphilip is a large hillfort with double banks, covering a wide area. It's known by a few names, including Moel Ton-Mawr.
Danish Camp is an oval-shaped bank within a forest plantation. It's close to the medieval Margam deer park.
Half Moon Camp is a small hillfort on a hilltop north of Margam Abbey. It's part of the Wales Coast Path.
Mynydd y Castell Camp is a large D-shaped hillfort, covering about 2.7 hectares. It's a starting or finishing point for several long walking paths.
Caer Blaen-y-Cwm is a double-banked enclosure on a ridge near River Kenfig. It was once thought to be Roman, but now it's known to be older.
Blaen-Cwmbach Earthwork is an unfinished defensive ringwork next to a Roman camp.

Burial Sites and Standing Stones

Foel Chwern Round Cairn is a grass-covered burial mound on the edge of a steep hill.
Carreg Hir Standing Stone is a tall sandstone slab, almost 3 meters high, found in a school playground. It might be in its original spot.
Burial Chamber at Pen-yr-Alltwen is a site that might be an ancient burial chamber, though some think it could be natural rock formations.
Cefn Celfi Standing Stones are two stone blocks, possibly part of a group of three mentioned in old Welsh poems.
Pen-Rhiw-Angharad Round Cairns are a group of at least eight cairns (piles of stones) on a moorland ridge.
Carn Caca Cairnfield includes three round cairns, one of which was a "kerb cairn" with stones forming an edge.
Gelli-Bwch Round Cairn is an oval-shaped burial mound, 20 meters across and 1.8 meters high, with a hollow in the middle.
Llandarcy Round Cairn is a grass-covered mound that might have a cist (a stone box for burials) inside.
Mynydd Marchywel summit cairn is a heap of stones on a mountain top, with traces of kerbstones.
Coed Ddu ring cairn is a circular stone feature, 13 meters wide, possibly a burial site.
Mynydd Marchywel Round Cairn is a large circular cairn with a central "robber-crater" where it was dug into.
Carreg Bica Standing Stone is a very tall stone, 4.3 meters high, on a ridge top. It's also known as Maen Bredwan.
Three Round Cairns on Mynydd Drumau are low, worn-down mounds on a ridge.
Mynydd Drumau Round Cairn with Cist was described in 1695. It was excavated in the 1800s, and burnt bones and an ancient axe head were found.
Bachgen Carreg Round Cairn is a low mound with a small pile of stones on top.
Bryn Llydan Round Barrow is a round burial mound, 9 meters wide, on a small hilltop.
Carn Caglau cairn is a grass-covered cairn with a burial chamber in the center.
Crug yr Afan Round Cairn is a complex mound with a stone cairn on top. Burnt bones and a model dagger were found when it was opened in 1902.
Pebyll Ring Cairn is a large, oval stone bank, about 30 meters wide, used for burials.
Ergyd Uchaf Round Barrow is a round burial mound in a clearing in Margam Forest.
Site of Bodvoc Stone is where a 6th-century stone with the name 'Bodvoc' was found. The original is in a museum, but a replica is here.
Twmpath Diwlith Round Barrow was excavated in 1921. It was built of turf and contained burnt bones.
Ty'n-y-Cellar Standing Stone is a large sandstone block, 2.5 meters high, in a field.
Cefn Mawr cairn is a round cairn on a ridge.
Foel Fynyddau Round Cairn is a cairn of small stones on a mountain summit.
Burial Chamber near Carn Llechart is a site where large stone slabs might have been used to create a tomb.
Carn Llechart Stone Circle has 25 stone slabs forming a 14-meter circle, with a stone-lined burial box in the center. It's thought to be a burial site from 1000-2000 BC.
Mynydd y Garth Cairn is a pile of loose stones on a ridge.
Carn Cornel Round Cairn is a cairn on a hillside, near an old Roman road.
Ergyd Isaf Round Barrows are two circular, grass-covered mounds on a hilltop.

Roman Times: Military Camps and Forts

Six sites in Neath Port Talbot are from the Roman period, mostly related to their military presence.

Nidum Roman fort, Neath was an auxiliary fort first built around 74 AD. It was rebuilt in stone and used until the 3rd century. Parts of it are now in the grounds of a school.
Melin Court Roman Marching Camp is a square-sided camp on the upper Melin Court valley. It's next to an Iron Age enclosure, showing how different groups used the land.
Coelbren Roman Fort is a Roman auxiliary fort at the northern end of Neath Port Talbot. It was built around 74 AD and was important for controlling the Sarn Helen road.
Coelbren Roman Marching Camp is a large rectangular camp near Coelbren Roman Fort. It was used by Roman soldiers on the move.
Hirfynydd fortlet was a small square enclosure high up on the Hirfynydd ridge. It was likely a Roman signal station, helping to control the Sarn Helen road.
Blaen Cwm Bach Camp is a large rectangular Roman camp, defined by banks and ditches cut into the rocky ground. It's right next to an Iron Age enclosure, just like the Melin Court camp.

Medieval Period: Abbeys, Castles, and Churches

There are 18 medieval sites, including old churches, castles, and abbeys.

Court Herbert Cross & Grave Slab features a pillar with two crosses carved into it (from the 7th-9th centuries). A grave slab, possibly of the first abbot of Neath Abbey, is nearby.
Clawdd Mawr, Mynydd Caerau is a bank and ditch running for 200 meters across a low point between two ridges.
Margam Inscribed & Sculptured Stones are a collection of carved stone pillars and crosses, many from late Roman and early medieval times. They are now kept in the Margam Stones Museum.
Sculptured Cross Llanmihangel Farm is a piece of a Celtic "cartwheel cross" head, now built into a farmhouse wall.
Cefn Morfydd Dyke & Earthwork is a bank with a shallow ditch running across a ridge.
Plas Baglan was a defensive house from the 12th century, overlooking Baglan. Only traces of its walls remain today.
St Baglan's Church is a medieval church, now in ruins after a fire in 1954. It has very old Christian stones in its churchyard.
St Margaret's Chapel was first mentioned in 1291. It was part of a larger religious site connected to Neath Abbey.
Hirfynydd house platforms are rectangular enclosures with platforms where houses once stood.
Tirlan medieval house sites are two platform houses near a track, with old cultivation ridges nearby.
Castell Bowlan (also called Cwm-Clais) might be a 12th-century Welsh castle, built to look like Norman castles.
Mynydd Drumau settlement platforms are a group of house platforms cut into a steep hillside.
Neath Abbey and Gatehouse was once the largest Cistercian monastery in Wales. After it closed, a mansion was built there, and later it became an industrial site. The ruins are now open to the public.
Hen Eglwys (also known as Cryke Chapel) is a ruined chapel from 1470, part of Margam Abbey. Its remaining walls were used as a landmark for Margam Castle.
Margam Abbey was founded in 1147. Its nave (main part) is still used as a parish church today. The rest of the abbey ruins are part of Margam Castle's parkland.
Margam Medieval Bath House (also called Ffynnon Fyggyr) might have been a healing well or monastic baths. The current structure is from the 14th or 15th century.
Neath Castle is Neath's second castle, first mentioned in 1183. It was used until the 17th century and is now a recreational area.
Foel Fynyddau Deserted Rural Settlement marks the spot of a medieval settlement with earthwork house platforms and a sunken storehouse.

Modern History: Industrial Revolution and Beyond

The 26 post-medieval sites mostly show the area's industrial past, which spans over 400 years.

Remains of Venallt Ironworks are blast furnaces built in 1839–42 to make iron using new methods.
Aberdulais Aqueduct was built in 1823 to carry the Tennant Canal over the River Neath. It's the longest aqueduct in South Wales with 10 stone arches.
Tinplate works at Aberdulais Falls is an industrial site that started with water-powered metalworking in 1584. It's now open to visitors.
Ynysmaerdy Railway Incline was an inclined railway designed by Brunel in the 1850s to bring coal to Briton Ferry Docks.
Waun y Coed Colliery Branch Canal and Tramroad Incline is a complex system of a tramway, canal branch, and canal dock built in 1828 to link a coal mine and ironworks to the Swansea Canal.
Tennant Canal: Skewen Cutting and tramroad bridge is a stone-lined section of the Tennant Canal built in 1821. It's famous for carrying a horse-drawn railway over the canal.
Cwmafan copper works flue is a culvert that ran up a hillside to a chimney, venting fumes from copper smelting works (1838-1906).
Neath Abbey Ironworks includes two blast furnaces and engineering works, used from the 1790s to 1885. They made steam engines and even built ships.
Neath Abbey Ironworks Dam was built in 1840 on the River Clydach to provide a steady water supply for the ironworks.
Ynys Fawr Corn-Drying Kiln is an inverted stone cone used to dry grain over a fire, preparing it for storage.
Leat & Dam at Llanmihangel Mill are the remains of a watermill from the early 19th century, which stopped working in 1940.
Remains of Blast Furnaces at Banwen are the most complete ironworks remains on the anthracite coalfield, built in 1845.
Cwm Pelenna Colliery Ventilation Furnace is a stone chimney and flue used to ventilate a coal mine in the 1830s.
Pontrhydyfen Aqueduct / Viaduct (also known as 'Y Bont Fawr') was completed in 1825. It's a 425-meter bridge with huge arches that carried a wagonway and water to power steelworks.
Melin Court Blast Furnace was an important ironworks operating between 1708 and 1808. Its ruins stand among woodlands.
Claypon's Tramroad at Ystradgynlais was an early tramroad built in 1832 to transport coal and limestone to ironworks.
Parsons' Folly (Glyncorrwg Mineral Railway) was a 12-kilometer wagonway with steep inclines, built between 1839 and 1842. It was very expensive and eventually abandoned.
Remains of Lock and Dry Dock at Pantyffynnon are part of the Swansea Canal, where a dry dock was added in 1875-76 to repair boats.
Briton Ferry Dock Entrance was designed by Brunel in 1861, featuring an experimental buoyant lockgate system.
Cae'r Mynydd Ventilation Furnace and Mine is a well-preserved example of early mine ventilation technology from the early 19th century.
Canal Boat at Aberdulais Basin marks the location of an old canal boat that was abandoned and has now mostly disappeared into the banks.
River Twrch Aqueduct, Ystalyfera is a stone aqueduct built in 1798, carrying the Swansea Canal over the River Twrch. It was innovative for its time.
Crimea Colliery & Canal Quay was a coal mine that operated for only eight years (1854-1862). Its substantial ruins show a complete layout of a mid-19th-century colliery.
Cilybebyll Auxiliary Unit Operational Base is an underground chamber built in the 1940s as a secret base for defense in case of invasion.
Pentreclwydau Colliery was an anthracite coal mine opened in 1957 and worked for 10 years. It was a "drift mine," meaning it went sideways into the hillside.
Chain Home Low Radar Station, Margam was part of a network of early warning radar stations built during World War II to detect low-flying enemy planes.

Images for kids

An Iron Age enclosure within Briton Ferry Woods.
Buarth y Gaer Iron Age Hill Fort.
Gaer Fawr hillfort looking north toward Neath.
Cwm Caca, somewhere near the enclosure.
Mynydd March Hywel trig point.
Mynydd Marchywel Round Cairn, visible after trees were cleared.
Pen-y-Castell.
Carreg Bica standing stone.
Near Carn Caglau.
A clearing in the trees at the Pebyll ring cairn.
Concentric hillfort defenses at Caer Cwmphilip.
Oval bank of Danish Camp, by Margam medieval deer park boundary.
Pre-Roman double bank, quadrangular enclosure on Mynydd Margam.
Concrete replica of the Bodvoc Stone in the middle of the cairn.
Ty'n-y-Cellar Standing Stone.
Carn Llechart cairn circle.
Ancient mounds.
Remains of Nidum Forth south gates.
Cwm Caca, vicinity of the Roman Camp.
Looking north along western side of the Blaen Cwm Bach Roman marching camp.
Margam Stones Museum, ground floor.
Plas Baglan fortified enclosure is probably amongst the trees beyond the clearing.
Ruined medieval church of St Baglan, Port Talbot.
Neath Abbey and the Tennant Canal.
Hen Eglwys, a ruined chapel above Margam Park.
Margam Abbey with Margam Castle in the background.
Neath Castle.
House Platforms on the north slope of Foel Fynyddau.
The 'blowing house' of Venallt Blast Furnace.
Tennant Canal Aqueduct over the River Neath at Aberdulais.
Waterwheel and industrial remains, Aberdulais Falls.
Bridge on the Ynysmaerdy Railway Incline.
Neath Abbey Ironworks blast furnaces.
Machinery at Cwm Clydach pond.
Aqueduct (now cycleway) over the valley at Pontrhydyfen.
Claypon's Tramroad Extension.
The remains of 'Parson's Folly' Tramroad.
Engine House Tower.
Skew bridge at Aberdulais canal basin.
Swansea Canal Aqueduct at Ystalyfera.
Pentreclwydau coalmine, Glynneath, a mid 20th century drift mine.
Coast Defence Radar Station overlooking Swansea Bay.

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List of scheduled monuments in Neath Port Talbot Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.