Gwynedd is a large rural county in North Wales. The northern half includes the high mountains of Snowdonia and the mixed farmland and hills of the Llŷn peninsula, which between them make up much of the former county of Caernarfonshire. The southern part of Gwynedd is the softer coastal and upland landscapes of the former county of Merionethshire. Gwynedd, the second-largest county in Wales, has a total of 497 scheduled monuments. That is too many to have on a single list article, so for convenience the list is divided into three. The 365 prehistoric sites are in two lists, covering 171 sites in former Merionethshire, and 194 sites in former Caernarvonshire. The 132 sites dating from Roman to modern times are included in a single list covering the whole of the county. Gwynedd is a unitary authority comprising most of the two historic counties. In 1974 it also merged with Anglesey, and the merged county was also called Gwynedd. Since 1996 Anglesey has been a separate county again.
The northern prehistoric sites are listed at List of prehistoric scheduled monuments in Gwynedd (former Caernarvonshire)
The southern prehistoric sites are listed at List of prehistoric scheduled monuments in Gwynedd (former Merionethshire)
The more recent sites are listed at List of Roman-to-modern scheduled monuments in Gwynedd
Scheduled monuments have statutory protection. It is illegal to disturb the ground surface or any standing remains. The compilation of the list is undertaken by Cadw Welsh Historic Monuments, which is an executive agency of the National Assembly of Wales.[1] The list of scheduled monuments is supplied by Cadw[2] with additional material from RCAHMW and Gwynedd Archaeological Trust.