LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade
Satellite Imagery
LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade
Satellite Imagery
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HER: Gwynedd 652 (None)
NMR: SH 77 SE 1 (303107)
SM: None
NGR: SH75427395
X: 275420 Y: 373950 (OSGB36)
Complex contour hillfort sited on prominent rocky knoll overlooking the Conwy valley near the river's estuary. Surrounding slopes moderate to strong to N and S, steep on E and moderate on W. Much robbed for local stone. Discontinuous lines of walling, joining sections of crag, define an irregular enclosure, c. 130m N-S by 70m overall with inner enclosure c. 50m N-S by 30m and overall inner area 1.4ha. In more detail, highest part had stone wall c. 2m wide with ditch on the N blocking natural approach to summit. Second wall 9-12m with three ruinous entrances through it (N, SE, SW), each on natural slope, improved artificially. On N, two or three courses survive of the curved outer face of the E side of the passage. Traces of third outer wall on N and S where no entrance visible. Rough upland grass and bare rock. Site much robbed of stone for local walls making interpretation difficult. On 1st Ed. OS map (1889). Minimal investigations, undated.
Citizen Science: ✗
Reliability of Data: Confirmed
Reliability of Interpretation: Confirmed
X: -430650 Y: 7028983 (EPSG: 3857)
Longitude: -3.86859922131464 Latitude: 53.247891100848925 (EPSG:4326)
Country: Wales
Current County or Unitary Authority: Conwy
Historic County: Caernarfonshire
Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland: Henryd
Site much robbed of stone for local walls making interpretation difficult and barely traceable.
| Extant | ✓ |
| Cropmark | ✗ |
| Likely Destroyed | ✓ |
Rough upland grass and bare rock.
| Woodland | ✗ |
| Commercial Forestry Plantation | ✗ |
| Parkland | ✗ |
| Pasture (Grazing) | ✓ |
| Arable | ✗ |
| Scrub/Bracken | ✗ |
| Bare Outcrop | ✗ |
| Heather/Moorland | ✗ |
| Heath | ✗ |
| Built-up | ✗ |
| Coastal Grassland | ✗ |
| Other | ✗ |
Complex contour hillfort sited on prominent rocky knoll overlooking the Conwy valley near the river's estuary. Surrounding slopes moderate to strong to N and S, steep on E and moderate 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: Knoll
| North | ✗ |
| Northeast | ✗ |
| East | ✗ |
| Southeast | ✗ |
| South | ✗ |
| Southwest | ✗ |
| West | ✗ |
| Northwest | ✗ |
| Level | ✓ |
Altitude: 312.0m
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 (1889). RCAHMW investigation 1952. Ordnance Survey observation 1962, 1969. GAT prehistoric defended enclosures survey 2004-2005.
| 1st Identified Map Depiction (1889): | OS map. |
| Other (1952): | RCAHMW investigation. |
| Other (1992): | Visited by Hillfort Study Group |
| Other (None): | Ordnance Survey observation. |
| Other (None): | GAT prehistoric defended enclosures survey. |
None
Stream 0.3km 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 | ✗ |
Entrances difficult to define but four simple gaps - one to inner wall and three to middle wall. None defined on outer wall.
| 4: | None |
| 2: | None |
Guard Chambers: ✗
Chevaux de Frise: ✗
| 1. Simple Gap (South east): | Entrance through inner and highest wall located through natural cleft at top of which possible defended gate. |
| 2. Simple Gap (South east): | Entrance through middle wall. Ruinous. |
| 3. Simple Gap (South west): | Entrance through middle wall. Ruinous |
| 4. Simple Gap (North): | Entrance through middle wall. Two or three courses survive of the curved outer face of the E side of the passage. |
Discontinuous lines of walling, joining sections of crag, define an irregular enclosure, c. 130m N-S by 70m overall with inner enclosure c. 50m N-S by 30m and overall inner area 1.4ha. In more detail, highest part had stone wall c. 2m wide with ditch on the N blocking natural approach to summit. Second wall 9-12m. Traces of third outer wall on N and S.
| Area 1: | 1.4ha. |
| Total: | 1.4ha. |
Total Footprint Area: Noneha.
None
| ✗ | None |
| ✗ | Quadrants estimated as site much robbed. |
| NE Quadrant: | 3 |
| SE Quadrant: | 3 |
| SW Quadrant: | 3 |
| NW Quadrant: | 3 |
| Total: | 3 |
| Partial Univallate | ✗ |
| Univallate | ✗ |
| Partial Bivallate | ✗ |
| Bivallate | ✗ |
| Partial Multivallate | ✗ |
| Multivallate | ✓ |
| Unknown | ✗ |
| Partial Univallate | ✗ |
| Univallate | ✗ |
| Partial Bivallate | ✗ |
| Bivallate | ✗ |
| Partial Multivallate | ✗ |
| Multivallate | ✗ |
Stone-walled site.
| 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 |
| ✓ | None |
Number of Ditches: 1
| ✗ | None |
Bezant Lowe, W. 1924. Prehistoric Remains in North Caernarvonshire, Arch Camb, LXXIX, 90.
RCAHMW 1956. Caernarvonshire Vol I: East, A survey and inventory by the Royal Commission on Ancient and Historical Monuments in Wales and Monmouthshire, No 453, 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:
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