Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland

WA1413 Welfield Camp, Radnorshire (Wellfield Camp)

LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade

LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade

Satellite Imagery

Satellite Imagery

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HER:  Clwyd Powys 1604 (None)

NMR:  SO 05 SW 5 (305834)

SM:  None

NGR:  SO 0355 5280

X:  303550  Y:  252800  (OSGB36)

Summary

Small, nearly circular, contour hillfort located on Welfield Rocks, a prominent spur summit above the River Wye at Builth Wells and at the confluence of the Wye and Irfon and the Irfon and Chwerfri. Moderate to strong surrounding slopes to N, steep to S, E and W. Measures c. 60m diameter overall and c. 50m diameter interior, with internal area c. 0.18ha. Site nearly levelled as a result of past forestry operations, but now survives as scarp up to 1.5m high externally for 40m on NE, E and S sides. On E stretch of bank for 10m on top of the scarp, c. 4m wide and 0.7m high. No evidence for ditches. Entrance unknown. Wooded. On 1st Ed. OS map (1889). Minimal investigations, undated.

Status

Citizen Science:  ✗

Reliability of Data:  Confirmed

Reliability of Interpretation:  Confirmed

Location

X:  -379776  Y:  6830011  (EPSG: 3857)

Longitude:  -3.4115840055832245  Latitude:  52.164978400241274  (EPSG:4326)

Country:  Wales

Current County or Unitary Authority:  Powys

Historic County:  Radnorshire

Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland:  Llanelwedd

Monument Condition

Site nearly levelled as result of forestry operations in past.

Condition:
Extant   ✓
Cropmark   ✗
Likely Destroyed   ✓

Land Use

Wooded site.

Current Use:
Woodland   ✓
Commercial Forestry Plantation   ✗
Parkland   ✗
Pasture (Grazing)   ✗
Arable   ✗
Scrub/Bracken   ✗
Bare Outcrop   ✗
Heather/Moorland   ✗
Heath   ✗
Built-up   ✗
Coastal Grassland   ✗
Other   ✗

Landscape

Hillfort Type

Small, nearly circular, contour hillfort located on Welfield Rocks, a prominent spur summit above the River Wye at Builth Wells and at the confluence of the Wye and Irfon and the Irfon and Chwerfri.

Type:
Contour Fort   ✓
Partial Contour Fort   ✗
Promontory Fort   ✗
Hillslope Fort   ✗
Level Terrain Fort   ✗
Marsh Fort   ✗
Multiple Enclosure Fort   ✗

Topographic Position

Position:
Hilltop   ✗
Coastal Promontory   ✗
Inland Promontory   ✗
Valley Bottom   ✗
Knoll/Hillock/Outcrop   ✗
Ridge   ✗
Cliff/Plateau-edge/Scarp   ✗
Hillslope   ✗
Lowland   ✗
Spur   ✓

Dominant Topographic Feature:  Spur summit

Aspect:
North   ✗
Northeast   ✗
East   ✗
Southeast   ✗
South   ✗
Southwest   ✗
West   ✗
Northwest   ✗
Level   ✓

Altitude:  243.0m

Boundary

N/A


Dating Evidence

None

Reliability:  D - None

Principal Activity:
Pre 1200BC   ✗
1200BC - 800BC   ✗
800BC - 400BC   ✗
400BC - AD50   ✗
AD50 - AD400   ✗
AD400 - AD 800   ✗
Post AD800   ✗
Unknown   ✓

Other Activity:
Pre Hillfort:   None
Post Hillfort:   None

Evidence:No related records

Investigation History

On 1st Ed. OS map (1889). CPAT defended enclosures survey 2006.

Investigations:
1st Identified Map Depiction (1889):   OS map.
Other (2006):   CPAT defended enclosures survey.

Interior Features

None

Water Source

River Wye 0,5km outside fort.

Source:
None   ✓
Spring   ✗
Stream   ✗
Pool   ✗
Flush   ✗
Well   ✗
Other   ✗

Surface

None

Interior Features (Surface):
No Known Features   ✓
Round Stone Structures   ✗
Rectangular Stone Structures   ✗
Curvilinear Platforms   ✗
Other Roundhouse Evidence   ✗
Pits   ✗
Quarry Hollows   ✗
Other   ✗

Excavation

None

Interior Features (Excavation):
No Known Excavation   ✓
Pits   ✗
Postholes   ✗
Roundhouses   ✗
Rectangular Structures   ✗
Roads/Tracks   ✗
Quarry Hollows   ✗
Other   ✗
Nothing Found   ✗

Geophysics

None

Interior Features (Geophysics):
No Known Geophysics   ✓
Pits   ✗
Roundhouses   ✗
Rectangular Structures   ✗
Roads/Tracks   ✗
Quarry Hollows   ✗
Other   ✗
Nothing Found   ✗

Finds

None

Interior (Finds):
No Known Finds   ✓
Pottery   ✗
Metal   ✗
Metalworking   ✗
Human Bones   ✗
Animal Bones   ✗
Lithics   ✗
Environmental   ✗
Other   ✗

Aerial

None

Interior Features (Aerial):
APs Not Checked   ✓
None   ✗
Roundhouses   ✗
Rectangular Structures   ✗
Pits   ✗
Postholes   ✗
Roads/Tracks   ✗
Other   ✗

Entrances

No entrance defined.

Total Number of Breaks Through Ramparts:  
0:   None

Number of Possible Original Entrances:  
2:   None

Guard Chambers:  ✗

Chevaux de Frise:  ✗

Entrances:No related records

Enclosing Works

Site nearly levelled as a result of past forestry operations, but now survive as scarp up to 1.5m high externally for 40m on NE, E and S sides. On E stretch of bank for 10m on top of the scarp, c. 4m wide and 0.7m high. No evidence for ditches.

Enclosed Area:
Area 1:   0.2ha.
Total:   0.2ha.

Total Footprint Area:  Noneha.

Ramparts

None

Multi-period Enclosure System:
✗   None

Ramparts Form a Continuous Circuit:
✗   Survives as scarp only on NE, E and S..

Number of Ramparts:  
NE Quadrant:   1
SE Quadrant:   1
SW Quadrant:   1
NW Quadrant:   1
Total:   1

Morphology

Current Morphology:
Partial Univallate   ✗
Univallate   ✓
Partial Bivallate   ✗
Bivallate   ✗
Partial Multivallate   ✗
Multivallate   ✗
Unknown   ✗

Detailed Morphology:
Partial Univallate   ✗
Univallate   ✗
Partial Bivallate   ✗
Bivallate   ✗
Partial Multivallate   ✗
Multivallate   ✗

Surface Evidence

None

Enclosing Works (Surface):
None   ✗
Earthen Bank   ✓
Stone Wall   ✗
Rubble   ✗
Wall-walk   ✗
Evidence of Timber   ✗
Vitrification   ✗
Other Burning   ✗
Palisade   ✗
Counter Scarp Bank   ✗
Berm   ✗
Unfinished   ✗
Other   ✗

Excavated Evidence

None

Enclosing Works (Excavation):
None   ✗
Earthen Bank   ✗
Stone Wall   ✗
Murus Duplex   ✗
Timber-framed   ✗
Timber-laced   ✗
Vitrification   ✗
Other Burning   ✗
Palisade   ✗
Counter Scarp Bank   ✗
Berm   ✗
Unfinished   ✗
No Known Excavation   ✓
Other   ✗

Other

Gang Working:
✓   None

Ditches:
✗   None visible. Probably destroyed.

Number of Ditches:  0

Annex:
✗   None

References

Royal Commission on the ancient and historical monuments and constructions in Wales and Monmouthshire 1913. An inventory of the ancient monuments in Wales and Monmouthshire, III, County of Radnor, No. 329, London: HMSO.

Savory, H.N. 1952: List of hill-forts and other earthworks in Wales, IV, Radnorshire, Bull Board Celtic Stud, 16, 77.

Silvester, R.J. and Hankinson, R. 2006. Defended enclosures in Radnorshire. Project report, CPAT Report 781, Welshpool: CPAT,



Terms of Use

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


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