Description

The monument comprises the remains of a multivallate hillfort, which dates to the Iron Age period (c. 800 BC - AD 74, the Roman conquest of Wales). The hillfort is located on a hilltop with panoramic views in all directions and is wooded. It is roughly oval in plan, measuring 230m N/S by 180m E/W, with an entrance on the NE side. To the N of the entrance there are three banks separated by wide flattish ditches. The outer bank is 2m high, the middle bank 3m high and the inner bank 1.8m high. The inner bank only survives for a short length, before petering out to a low tump. The middle and outer banks continue to the edge of the steep slope on the NW side of the site, where the terminate. Along the NW side of the fort the ground drops steeply and the defences continue as two scarps, the upper one 2m-3m high, the lower one 5m high. The scarps continue around the W side, but to the S a third low bank rises between the scarps. On the S side the third bank becomes more pronounced, with an internal height of 1.5m and an external height of 2.5m. The inner scarp continues at a height of 2.5m while the outer scarp gradually rises into a bank 1.5m high. On the E and SE side the defences reach their maximum height, with the inner scarp remaining at 2.5m high. Outside the inner scarp is a bank 1m high on the inside and 1.5m high on the outside, and beyond this the largest bank which is 1.5m high on the inside and 3.5m high on the outside. There is a further outer bank, 1.5m high, beyond. The bank are separated by wide U-shaped ditches. The banks and ditches continue around to the entrance. Excavations were carried out at the hillfort between 1969 and 1971, to investigate the structure of the defences and try to identify internal features. The excavation of trenches across the defences on the SE side of the site indicated that they had been built in at least two phases, with the outer bank added at a later date. Internally, evidence for four roundhouses was uncovered in the excavation trenches.

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