LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade
Satellite Imagery
LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade
Satellite Imagery
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HER: Clwyd Powys 100 (None)
NMR: SJ 10 NE 3 (306741)
SM: MG010(POW)
NGR: SJ17850591
X: 317850 Y: 305910 (OSGB36)
Substantial, univallate, contour hillfort sited directly opposite to Y Golfa Camp (Atlas No. 1350) on summit of prominent Pen-y-Foel hill, above a possible pass from the Afon Banwy to the River Severn, in an area of clusters of small hillforts at Castle Ceireinion. Surrounding slopes steep to N and moderate to strong to E and W. Much use made of steep slopes. Sub-rectangular in plan measuring c. 165m by 124m with internal area 1.5ha. Erosion has resulted in banks reduced to mere scarps, and the ditch only survives to the NE, where there is also a counterscarp bank. S out-turned entrance. Another giving access to the annexe north of the farmhouse, with central gap between both enclosures. Annexe to the W of c. 0.6ha was formerly delineated by a bank and ditch, some 38m from the main enclosure bank. Track on the S side is probably original. Earthen rampart and ditch on S side mutilated by a farmhouse and garden. Improved pasture interior. Part-wooded extremity on N and E and SE. On 1st Ed. OS map (1886). Minimal investigations, undated.
Citizen Science: ✗
Reliability of Data: Confirmed
Reliability of Interpretation: Confirmed
X: -357961 Y: 6917538 (EPSG: 3857)
Longitude: -3.2156170401888904 Latitude: 52.64466077198987 (EPSG:4326)
Country: Wales
Current County or Unitary Authority: Powys
Historic County: Montgomeryshire
Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland: Castle Caereinion
Earthen rampart and ditch on the S side mutilated by a farmhouse and garden.
| Extant | ✓ |
| Cropmark | ✗ |
| Likely Destroyed | ✗ |
Improved pasture interior. Part-wooded extremity on N, E and SE.
| Woodland | ✓ |
| Commercial Forestry Plantation | ✗ |
| Parkland | ✗ |
| Pasture (Grazing) | ✓ |
| Arable | ✗ |
| Scrub/Bracken | ✗ |
| Bare Outcrop | ✗ |
| Heather/Moorland | ✗ |
| Heath | ✗ |
| Built-up | ✓ |
| Coastal Grassland | ✗ |
| Other | ✗ |
Substantial, univallate, contour hillfort sited directly opposite to Y Golfa Camp on summit of prominent Pen-y-Foel hill, above a possible pass from the Afon Banwy to the River Severn, in an area of clusters of small hillforts. Much use made of steep slopes in defence. Surrounding slopes steep to N and moderate to strong to E and W.
| 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: Hill top
| North | ✗ |
| Northeast | ✗ |
| East | ✗ |
| Southeast | ✗ |
| South | ✗ |
| Southwest | ✗ |
| West | ✗ |
| Northwest | ✗ |
| Level | ✓ |
Altitude: 275.0m
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 |
On 1st Ed. OS map (1886). CPAT Montgomeryshire Small enclosures project 1990-97.
| 1st Identified Map Depiction (1886): | OS map. |
| Other (None): | CPAT Montgomeryshire Small enclosures project. |
None.
Stream 0.4km outside fort,
| 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 | ✗ |
Southern entranceis a simple gap. Access to the annexe N of the farmhouse is via central gap between both enclosures. Possible inturned entrances on W is probably modern.
| 2: | Possible inturned entrances on W is probably modern. |
| 2: | Possible inturned entrances on W is probably modern. |
Guard Chambers: ✗
Chevaux de Frise: ✗
| 1. Simple Gap (South): | None |
| 2. Simple Gap (West): | Access to the annexe N of the farmhouse is via central gap between both enclosures. |
| 3. Simple Gap (West): | Possible inturned entrances on W is probably modern. |
Erosion has resulted in banks reduced to mere scarps, and the ditch only survives to the NE, where there is also a counterscarp bank.
| Area 1: | 1.5ha. |
| Total: | 1.5ha. |
Total Footprint Area: Noneha.
None
| ✗ | None |
| ✓ | None |
| NE Quadrant: | 1 |
| SE Quadrant: | 1 |
| SW Quadrant: | 1 |
| NW Quadrant: | 1 |
| Total: | 1 |
| Partial Univallate | ✗ |
| Univallate | ✓ |
| Partial Bivallate | ✗ |
| Bivallate | ✗ |
| Partial Multivallate | ✗ |
| Multivallate | ✗ |
| Unknown | ✗ |
| Partial Univallate | ✗ |
| Univallate | ✗ |
| Partial Bivallate | ✗ |
| Bivallate | ✗ |
| Partial Multivallate | ✗ |
| Multivallate | ✗ |
Earthen rampart. Counterscarp on NE.
| 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 only survives to the NE. |
Number of Ditches: 1
| ✓ | Annexe to W, N of farmhouse, of c. 0.6ha formerly delineated by a bank and ditch, some 38m from the main enclosure bank. Access to the annexe N of the farmhouse is via central gap between both enclosures. |
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, No. 92, 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, 336, 37, Bath: Adams and Dart.
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