Description

The monument comprises the remains of a hillfort, which probably dates to the Iron Age period (c. 800 BC - AD 74, the Roman conquest of Wales). Hillforts are usually located on hilltops and surrounded by a single or multiple earthworks of massive proportions. Hillforts must have formed symbols of power within the landscape, while their function may have had as much to do with ostentation and display as defence. Castell Goetre occupies a local summit on a ridge trending north-east to south-west on the northern side of the Teifi valley. It is roughly oval and measures c.250m north-east to south-west by 150m. It would appear to have had two lines of defence originally, but plough damage over the years has taken a toll, especially on the outer line, little of which now survives apart from as a scarp around the north and west. The inner defensive line is best preserved where it has been re-used by field boundaries; on the west, where the bank stands 0.3m internally and c.1.3m above the base of the ditch, and on the south-east, where the bank stands c.0.8m high internally, though the ditch and counterscarp on this side were ploughed out in the mid 1980s. A further bank with western ditch across the centre separates out the eastern part of the area, forming an enclosure c.120m across.

The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of later prehistoric defensive organisation and settlement. The site forms an important element within the wider later prehistoric context and within the surrounding landscape. The site is well preserved and retains considerable archaeological potential. There is a strong probability of the presence of evidence relating to chronology, building techniques and functional detail.

The scheduled area comprises the remains described and areas around them within which related evidence may be expected to survive.

Source: Cadw