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HER:  Clwyd Powys 90 (None)
NMR:  SJ 21 NW 4 (306989)
SM:  None
NGR:  SJ2035515530
X:  320355  Y:  315530  (OSGB36)
Partial contour hillfort located on W end of ENE-WSW low ridge of Gaer Bank above headwaters of Holywell Brook to S, flowing into River Severn on NE near Meifod. Moderate to steep surrounding slopes, less along ridge to NE. Roughly oval in shape measures c. 96m E-W by 58m, with internal area c. 0.56ha. Defined by two ploughed-down banks to 1m high with medial ditch. Possible third bank and ditch each side of causewayed NE entrance. On 1st Ed. OS map (1886). Minimal investigations, undated.
Citizen Science:  ✗
Reliability of Data:  Confirmed
Reliability of Interpretation:  Confirmed
X:  -354100  Y:  6933486  (EPSG: 3857)
Longitude:  -3.1809325840124614  Latitude:  52.731498524926494  (EPSG:4326)
Country:  Wales
Current County or Unitary Authority:  Powys
Historic County:  Montgomeryshire
Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland:  Meifod
Banks ploughed down to 1m high.
| Extant   | ✓ |
| Cropmark   | ✗ |
| Likely Destroyed   | ✗ |
Rough grazing.
| Woodland   | ✗ |
| Commercial Forestry Plantation   | ✗ |
| Parkland   | ✗ |
| Pasture (Grazing)   | ✓ |
| Arable   | ✗ |
| Scrub/Bracken   | ✗ |
| Bare Outcrop   | ✗ |
| Heather/Moorland   | ✗ |
| Heath   | ✗ |
| Built-up   | ✗ |
| Coastal Grassland   | ✗ |
| Other   | ✗ |
Partial contour hillfort located on W end of ENE-WSW low ridge of Gaer Bank above headwaters of Holywell Brook to S, flowing into River Severn on NE. Moderate to steep surrounding slopes, less along ridge to NE.
| 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:  Ridge
| North   | ✗ |
| Northeast   | ✗ |
| East   | ✗ |
| Southeast   | ✗ |
| South   | ✗ |
| Southwest   | ✓ |
| West   | ✗ |
| Northwest   | ✗ |
| Level   | ✗ |
Altitude:  122.0m
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 |
CPAT Iron Age and Romano-British Settlement in the Upper Severn Valley research project 1988. On 1st Ed. OS map (1886). CPAT Montgomeryshire Small enclosures project 1990-97.
| 1st Identified Map Depiction (1886):   | OS map. |
| Other (1988):   | CPAT Iron Age and Romano-British Settlement in the Upper Severn Valley research project. |
| Other (None):   | CPAT Montgomeryshire Small enclosures project. |
None.
None
| None   | ✓ |
| Spring   | ✗ |
| Stream   | ✗ |
| Pool   | ✗ |
| Flush   | ✗ |
| Well   | ✗ |
| Other   | ✗ |
None
| 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   | ✗ |
Causewayed entrance 12m wide to NE. Substantial holloway from W passes to N of fort with a spur heading to an entrance on the W side - probably modern.
| 1:   | Substantial holloway from W passes to N of fort with a spur heading to an entrance on the W side - probably modern. |
| 2:   | None |
Guard Chambers:  ✗
Chevaux de Frise:  ✗
| 1. Simple Gap (North east):   | Causewayed entrance. |
Defined by two ploughed-down banks to 1m high with medial ditch. Possible third bank and ditch each side of causewayed entrance.
| Area 1:   | 0.56ha. |
| Total:   | 0.56ha. |
Total Footprint Area:  Noneha.
None
| ✗   | None |
| ✓   | Third bank on NE possible only. |
| NE Quadrant:   | 3 |
| SE Quadrant:   | 2 |
| SW Quadrant:   | 2 |
| NW Quadrant:   | 2 |
| Total:   | 3 |
| Partial Univallate   | ✗ |
| Univallate   | ✗ |
| Partial Bivallate   | ✓ |
| Bivallate   | ✗ |
| Partial Multivallate   | ✓ |
| Multivallate   | ✗ |
| Unknown   | ✗ |
| Partial Univallate   | ✗ |
| Univallate   | ✗ |
| Partial Bivallate   | ✗ |
| Bivallate   | ✗ |
| Partial Multivallate   | ✗ |
| Multivallate   | ✗ |
None
| 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 |
| ✓   | Two and possibly three ditches. |
Number of Ditches:  3
| ✗   | None |
Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments and Constructions in Wales and Monmouthshire, 1911. An Inventory of the Ancient Monuments in Wales and Monmouthshire, I, County of Montgomery, London: HMSO.
Silvester, R.J. and Britnell, W.J. 1993. Montgomeryshire small enclosures project. Summary Report 1993, CPAT Report No 80, Welshpool, Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust.
Spurgeon, C.J. 1972. Enclosures of Iron Age type in the Upper Severn Basin, In Lynch, F. and Burgess, C. (eds.) 1972, Prehistoric man in Wales and the West, Bath: Adams and Dart.
Atlas of Hillforts:
Wikidata:
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