LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade
Satellite Imagery
LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade
Satellite Imagery
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HER: Gwynedd 1000 (None)
NMR: SH 63 SW (302801)
SM: ME059
NGR: SH61373250
X: 261370 Y: 332500 (OSGB36)
High partial contour hillfort located on W-facing end of summit of very prominent hill overlooking Morfa Harlech in a fine strategic position. Surrounding slopes very steep to N, steep to S and W and moderate to strong to E. Measures c. 80m N-S by 64m with internal area 0.48ha. Entrance possibly on S where there are slight breaks in the banks following a natural line up the hill. Two lines of banks and ditches surround the hilltop, averaging 9 m from crest to crest with additional line on NE. These low banks may be the result of erosion or, as Bowen and Gresham suggest (1967, 148), could have been topped by a timber palisade. Easily reached from the ridge of Y Fonllech Hir to S, which carries an ancient track inland from the mouth of the Afon Artro. Upland grazing and bare rock with low grassy banks, but good overall condition. Resembles the late Bronze Age origin Castell Odo on the Llyn (Atlas No. 1693). On 1st Ed. OS map (1889). Minimal investigations, undated.
Citizen Science: ✗
Reliability of Data: Confirmed
Reliability of Interpretation: Confirmed
X: -452088 Y: 6959365 (EPSG: 3857)
Longitude: -4.061172933673882 Latitude: 52.87204433286459 (EPSG:4326)
Country: Wales
Current County or Unitary Authority: Gwynedd
Historic County: Merioneth
Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland: Talsarnau
Low grassy banks, but good overall condition.
| Extant | ✓ |
| Cropmark | ✗ |
| Likely Destroyed | ✗ |
Upland grazing and bare rock.
| Woodland | ✗ |
| Commercial Forestry Plantation | ✗ |
| Parkland | ✗ |
| Pasture (Grazing) | ✓ |
| Arable | ✗ |
| Scrub/Bracken | ✗ |
| Bare Outcrop | ✗ |
| Heather/Moorland | ✗ |
| Heath | ✗ |
| Built-up | ✗ |
| Coastal Grassland | ✗ |
| Other | ✗ |
High partial contour hillfort located on W-facing end of summit of very prominent hill overlooking Morfa Harlech in a fine strategic position. Surrounding slopes very steep to N, steep to S and W and moderate to strong to E.
| 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: 369.0m
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). GAT site visits 1982, 1988, 1994. GAT prehistoric defended enclosures survey 2005-2006.
| 1st Identified Map Depiction (1889): | OS map. |
| Other (1985): | Visited by Hillfort Study Group |
| Other (None): | GAT site visits. |
| Other (None): | GAT prehistoric defended enclosures survey. |
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 | ✗ |
Entrance possibly on S side where there are slight breaks in the banks following a natural line up the hill. Site easily reached from the ridge of Y Fonllech Hir to S, which carries an ancient track inland from the mouth of the Afon Artro.
| None: | Not determined as indeterminate slight breaks in the banks following a natural line up the hill. |
| 2: | None |
Guard Chambers: ✗
Chevaux de Frise: ✗
| 1. Simple Gap (South): | None |
Two lines of banks and ditches surround the hilltop, averaging 9 m from crest to crest with additional line on NE. These low banks may be the result of erosion or, as Bowen and Gresham suggest (1967, 148), could have been topped by a timber palisade. 0.48ha.
| Area 1: | 0.48ha. |
| Total: | 0.48ha. |
Total Footprint Area: Noneha.
None
| ✗ | None |
| ✓ | None |
| 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 | ✗ |
Bowen and Gresham suggest (1967, 148), could have been topped by a timber palisade.
| 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 |
| ✓ | Shallow external ditches. |
Number of Ditches: 2
| ✗ | None |
Bowen E.G. and Gresham, C.A. 1967. History of Merioneth ,1, Dolgellau, 148-49.
Lynch, F. 1995. Gwynedd - A guide to ancient and historic Wales, London: HMSO, 81-2.
Smith, G.H. 2006. A survey of prehistoric defended enclosures in north-west Wales 2005-2006: Gwynedd Dwyfor and Meirionnydd. Report No 634. Part I: Survey Report. 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:
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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