The Western Brecon Beacons

“The Western Brecon Beacons: The Archaeology of Mynydd Du and Fforest Fawr” by David Leighton (with a foreword by Roy Noble OBE) is a richly illustrated and meticulously researched 180-page volume that uncovers millennia of human activity in the wild upland landscapes of western Bannau Brycheiniog.

Spanning some 270 square kilometres, this area of mountains and moorland, long thought remote, is revealed as a palimpsest of settlement, ritual, farming, burial, and industrial endeavour going back to the end of the last Ice Age. Leighton’s field-work for the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales draws on detailed mapping, aerial photography, and archaeological survey to illuminate how people adapted to changing climates, economies, and social structures in what is today challenging terrain.

A compelling read for anyone fascinated by high-land archaeology, environmental change, and the hidden histories of the uplands.