LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade
Satellite Imagery
LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade
Satellite Imagery
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HER: Glamorgan Gwent 00025w (None)
NMR: SS 49 SW 32 (301323)
SM: GM060
NGR: SS43439078
X: 243430 Y: 190780 (OSGB36)
Contour hillfort on spur at W end of isolated hill and the best known and excavated of the cluster of sites on Harding's Down on the Gower. Moderate to strong surrounding slopes to N, S, E moderate to strong, steep on W. Sub-oval, the site measures c. 110m by 75m with internal area 0.6ha. Defined by substantial rubble bank with dry-stone revetment on the outside, together with a ditch and counterscarp. To SE, two outer stretches of bank and ditch form another partial enclosure. Line of outer ditch is continued by slighter, possibly later bank, with internal ditch. This and other banks and ditches to NW of main enclosure possibly agricultural enclosures, linking with modern field boundaries. Ramparts are widely-spaced. Three circular features in interior, two excavated in 1962, as was the simple gap entrance to NE (Hogg 1973). Excavation proved it to be cobbled with stone-lined sides and four post gates. The entrance probably faced downhill, similar to that at the N camp. Fair condition. Upland pasture. All three hillforts on Harding's Down scheduled together as GM060. On 1st Ed. OS map (1879). Undated.
Citizen Science: ✗
Reliability of Data: Confirmed
Reliability of Interpretation: Confirmed
X: -474423 Y: 6727047 (EPSG: 3857)
Longitude: -4.261816818593152 Latitude: 51.59400618204778 (EPSG:4326)
Country: Wales
Current County or Unitary Authority: Swansea
Historic County: Glamorgan
Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland: Llangennith, Llanmadoc and Cheriton
Fair condition. Public footpaths to forts on Harding's Down.
| Extant | ✓ |
| Cropmark | ✗ |
| Likely Destroyed | ✗ |
Upland pasture.
| Woodland | ✗ |
| Commercial Forestry Plantation | ✗ |
| Parkland | ✗ |
| Pasture (Grazing) | ✓ |
| Arable | ✗ |
| Scrub/Bracken | ✗ |
| Bare Outcrop | ✗ |
| Heather/Moorland | ✗ |
| Heath | ✗ |
| Built-up | ✗ |
| Coastal Grassland | ✗ |
| Other | ✗ |
Contour hillfort on spur at W end of isolated hill. Moderate to strong surrounding slopes to N, S, E moderate to strong, steep on 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: 125.0m
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 (1879). Excavation by A.H.A Hogg 1962. RCAHMW investigation 1962. GGAT Prehistoric defended enclosures in Glamorgan survey 2005.
| 1st Identified Map Depiction (1879): | OS 1:2500 map. |
| Excavation (1962): | A.H.A. Hogg. |
| Other (1962): | RCAHMW investigation. |
| Other (1986): | Visited by Hillfort Study Group |
| Other (2005): | GGAT Prehistoric defended enclosures in Glamorgan survey. |
Three circular features (probably round huts) showed in interior, two excavated in 1962.
None
| None | ✓ |
| Spring | ✗ |
| Stream | ✗ |
| Pool | ✗ |
| Flush | ✗ |
| Well | ✗ |
| Other | ✗ |
Three circular features (probably round huts) showed in interior, two excavated in 1962.
| No Known Features | ✗ |
| Round Stone Structures | ✗ |
| Rectangular Stone Structures | ✗ |
| Curvilinear Platforms | ✓ |
| Other Roundhouse Evidence | ✗ |
| Pits | ✗ |
| Quarry Hollows | ✗ |
| Other | ✗ |
Three circular features (probably round huts) in interior, two excavated in 1962.
| 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 entrance to NE, excavation proved it to be cobbled with stone-lined sides and four-post gates.Entrance probably faced downhill, similar to that at the N camp.
| 1: | None |
| 2: | None |
Guard Chambers: ✗
Chevaux de Frise: ✗
| 1. Simple Gap (North east): | None |
Substantial rubble bank with dry-stone revetment on the outside, together with a ditch and counterscarp. To SE, two outer stretches of bank and ditch form another partial enclosure. Line of outer ditch is continued by slighter, possibly later bank, with internal ditch. This and other banks and ditches to NW of main enclosure possibly agricultural enclosures, linking with modern field boundaries.
| Area 1: | 0.6ha. |
| Total: | 0.6ha. |
Total Footprint Area: Noneha.
None
| ✗ | None |
| ✓ | None |
| NE Quadrant: | 1 |
| SE Quadrant: | 3 |
| SW Quadrant: | 1 |
| NW Quadrant: | 1 |
| Total: | 3 |
| Partial Univallate | ✓ |
| Univallate | ✗ |
| Partial Bivallate | ✗ |
| Bivallate | ✗ |
| Partial Multivallate | ✓ |
| Multivallate | ✗ |
| Unknown | ✗ |
| Partial Univallate | ✗ |
| Univallate | ✗ |
| Partial Bivallate | ✗ |
| Bivallate | ✗ |
| Partial Multivallate | ✗ |
| Multivallate | ✗ |
Substantial rubble bank with dry-stone revetment on outside.
| None | ✗ |
| Earthen Bank | ✗ |
| Stone Wall | ✓ |
| Rubble | ✓ |
| Wall-walk | ✗ |
| Evidence of Timber | ✗ |
| Vitrification | ✗ |
| Other Burning | ✗ |
| Palisade | ✗ |
| Counter Scarp Bank | ✓ |
| Berm | ✗ |
| Unfinished | ✗ |
| Other | ✗ |
Excavation 1962 indicated showed rubble bank revetted.
| 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 |
| ✓ | Ditches to NW of main enclosure probably agricultural enclosures, linking with modern field boundaries. |
Number of Ditches: 3
| ✗ | None |
Gerrard, C., Wiggins, H., and Evans, E. 2006. Prehistoric defended enclosures in Glamorgan with recommendations for fieldwork: Year 3 Report, GGAT Report No. 2006/089, Project No. GGAT78, Swansea: GGAT.
Hogg, A.H.A. 1973. Excavations at Harding's Down West Fort, Gower, Arch Camb, 122 (1973), 55-68.
RCAHMW 1976. An inventory of the ancient monuments in Glamorgan, 1.2, Pre-Norman, Parts I-III, No. 687, Cardiff: HMSO.
Savory, H.N. 1949. List of hillforts and other earthworks in Wales, Bull Board Celtic Stud, 13, 158.
Whittle, E. 1992. A guide to ancient and historic Wales - Glamorgan and Gwent, London: HMSO, 32-3.
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