LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade
Satellite Imagery
LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade
Satellite Imagery
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HER: Gwynedd 563 (None)
NMR: SH 77 SW 16 (94907)
SM: CN125
NGR: SH 7443 7297
X: 274430 Y: 372970 (OSGB36)
Isolated rocky partial contour hillfort located high on a hillock above the Afon Conwy valley at 410m O.D. on the mid slopes of Tal y Fan. Moderate to strong surrounding slopes. Two lines of encircling defence, outer circuit encloses oval area, c. 78m E-W by 66m, with area 0.5ha, inner circuit wall enclosing oval area, c. 50m E-W by 42m with area 0.21ha. Outer being a bank of earth with an external ditch, which reaches a maximum height of 3m+. Stone revetment of laid masonry can be traced on the NW outer face, and a slight counterscarp bank on S. E side merges into the natural slope. Inner circuit heavily robbed stone wall c. 4m-5m wide. Simple gap through both ramparts on the SE but badly damaged. Hut circle can be traced against the inner face of the NW side of the inner enclosure. Rough upland moorland, gorse, scrub and bare rock. Minimal investigations, undated.
Citizen Science: ✗
Reliability of Data: Confirmed
Reliability of Interpretation: Confirmed
X: -432258 Y: 7027302 (EPSG: 3857)
Longitude: -3.8830413759503175 Latitude: 53.23885324212394 (EPSG:4326)
Country: Wales
Current County or Unitary Authority: Conwy
Historic County: Caernarfonshire
Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland: Henryd
Well-preserved generally, but entrances through both ramparts badly damaged.
| Extant | ✓ |
| Cropmark | ✗ |
| Likely Destroyed | ✗ |
Rough upland moorland, gorse, scrub and bare rock.
| Woodland | ✗ |
| Commercial Forestry Plantation | ✗ |
| Parkland | ✗ |
| Pasture (Grazing) | ✗ |
| Arable | ✗ |
| Scrub/Bracken | ✗ |
| Bare Outcrop | ✗ |
| Heather/Moorland | ✓ |
| Heath | ✗ |
| Built-up | ✗ |
| Coastal Grassland | ✗ |
| Other | ✗ |
Isolated rocky partial contour hillfort located high above the Afon Conwy valley on the mid slopes of Tal y Fan (610m O.D). Moderate to strong surrounding slopes.
| Contour Fort | ✗ |
| Partial Contour Fort | ✓ |
| Promontory Fort | ✗ |
| Hillslope Fort | ✗ |
| Level Terrain Fort | ✗ |
| Marsh Fort | ✗ |
| Multiple Enclosure Fort | ✗ |
| Hilltop | ✗ |
| Coastal Promontory | ✗ |
| Inland Promontory | ✗ |
| Valley Bottom | ✗ |
| Knoll/Hillock/Outcrop | ✓ |
| Ridge | ✗ |
| Cliff/Plateau-edge/Scarp | ✗ |
| Hillslope | ✗ |
| Lowland | ✗ |
| Spur | ✗ |
Dominant Topographic Feature: Rocky hillock
| North | ✗ |
| Northeast | ✗ |
| East | ✗ |
| Southeast | ✓ |
| South | ✗ |
| Southwest | ✗ |
| West | ✗ |
| Northwest | ✗ |
| Level | ✗ |
Altitude: 410.0m
N/A
None
Reliability: D - None
| Pre 1200BC | ✗ |
| 1200BC - 800BC | ✗ |
| 800BC - 400BC | ✗ |
| 400BC - AD50 | ✗ |
| AD50 - AD400 | ✗ |
| AD400 - AD 800 | ✗ |
| Post AD800 | ✗ |
| Unknown | ✓ |
| Pre Hillfort: | None |
| Post Hillfort: | None |
RCAHMW investigation 1951. GAT investigations 1988, 19995. RCAHMW upland survey 2004. GAT prehistoric defended enclosures survey 2004-2005.
| Other (1951): | RCAHMW investigation. |
| Other (1992): | Visited by Hillfort Study Group |
| Other (2004): | RCAHMW unpland survey. |
| Other (None): | GAT investigations. |
| Other (None): | GAT prehistoric defended enclosures survey. |
Hut circle can be traced against the inner face of the NW side of the inner enclosure.
Pond 0.1km outside fort.
| None | ✓ |
| Spring | ✗ |
| Stream | ✗ |
| Pool | ✗ |
| Flush | ✗ |
| Well | ✗ |
| Other | ✗ |
Hut circle can be traced against the inner face of the NW side of the inner enclosure.
| No Known Features | ✗ |
| Round Stone Structures | ✗ |
| Rectangular Stone Structures | ✗ |
| Curvilinear Platforms | ✗ |
| Other Roundhouse Evidence | ✓ |
| Pits | ✗ |
| Quarry Hollows | ✗ |
| Other | ✗ |
None
| No Known Excavation | ✓ |
| Pits | ✗ |
| Postholes | ✗ |
| Roundhouses | ✗ |
| Rectangular Structures | ✗ |
| Roads/Tracks | ✗ |
| Quarry Hollows | ✗ |
| Other | ✗ |
| Nothing Found | ✗ |
None
| No Known Geophysics | ✓ |
| Pits | ✗ |
| Roundhouses | ✗ |
| Rectangular Structures | ✗ |
| Roads/Tracks | ✗ |
| Quarry Hollows | ✗ |
| Other | ✗ |
| Nothing Found | ✗ |
None
| No Known Finds | ✓ |
| Pottery | ✗ |
| Metal | ✗ |
| Metalworking | ✗ |
| Human Bones | ✗ |
| Animal Bones | ✗ |
| Lithics | ✗ |
| Environmental | ✗ |
| Other | ✗ |
None
| APs Not Checked | ✓ |
| None | ✗ |
| Roundhouses | ✗ |
| Rectangular Structures | ✗ |
| Pits | ✗ |
| Postholes | ✗ |
| Roads/Tracks | ✗ |
| Other | ✗ |
Simple gap through both ramparts on the SE, but badly damaged
| 1: | None |
| 2: | None |
Guard Chambers: ✗
Chevaux de Frise: ✗
| 1. Simple Gap (South east): | None |
Outer being a bank of earth with an external ditch, which reaches a maximum height of 3m+. Stone revetment of laid masonry can be traced on the NW outer face, and a slight counterscarp bank on S. E side merges into the natural slope. Inner circuit heavily robbed stone wall c. 4m-5m wide.
| Area 1: | 0.21ha. |
| Area 2: | 0.5ha. |
| Total: | 0.5ha. |
Total Footprint Area: Noneha.
None
| ✗ | None |
| ✗ | None |
| NE Quadrant: | 2 |
| SE Quadrant: | 2 |
| SW Quadrant: | 2 |
| NW Quadrant: | 2 |
| Total: | 2 |
| Partial Univallate | ✗ |
| Univallate | ✗ |
| Partial Bivallate | ✗ |
| Bivallate | ✓ |
| Partial Multivallate | ✗ |
| Multivallate | ✗ |
| Unknown | ✗ |
| Partial Univallate | ✗ |
| Univallate | ✗ |
| Partial Bivallate | ✗ |
| Bivallate | ✗ |
| Partial Multivallate | ✗ |
| Multivallate | ✗ |
Outer rampart of earth with stone revetment of laid masonry. Inner stone wall. Slight counterscarp.
| None | ✗ |
| Earthen Bank | ✓ |
| Stone Wall | ✓ |
| Rubble | ✗ |
| Wall-walk | ✗ |
| Evidence of Timber | ✗ |
| Vitrification | ✗ |
| Other Burning | ✗ |
| Palisade | ✗ |
| Counter Scarp Bank | ✓ |
| Berm | ✗ |
| Unfinished | ✗ |
| Other | ✗ |
None
| None | ✗ |
| Earthen Bank | ✗ |
| Stone Wall | ✗ |
| Murus Duplex | ✗ |
| Timber-framed | ✗ |
| Timber-laced | ✗ |
| Vitrification | ✗ |
| Other Burning | ✗ |
| Palisade | ✗ |
| Counter Scarp Bank | ✗ |
| Berm | ✗ |
| Unfinished | ✗ |
| No Known Excavation | ✓ |
| Other | ✗ |
| ✗ | None |
| ✓ | Ditch to outer rampart. |
Number of Ditches: 1
| ✗ | None |
RCAHMW 1956. Caernarvonshire Vol I: East, A survey and inventory by the Royal Commission on Ancient and Historical Monuments in Wales and Monmouthshire, No 452, London: HMSO.
Smith, G. , 2005 , A Survey of Prehistoric Defended Enclosures in North West Wales 2004-2005: West Conwy, Gwynedd (Arfon) and Anglesey, Bangor: Gwynedd Archaeological Trust.
Waddington, K. 2013. The Settlements of Northwest Wales: From the Late Bronze Age to the Early Medieval Period, Cardiff: University of Wales Press.
Atlas of Hillforts:
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This work is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
and should be cited as:
Lock, Gary and Ralston, Ian. 2024. Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland. Available at: https://hillforts.arch.ox.ac.uk
Document Version 1.1