LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade
Satellite Imagery
LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade
Satellite Imagery
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HER: Gwynedd 1237 (None)
NMR: SH 22 NE 3 (302279)
SM: None
NGR: SH29492670
X: 229490 Y: 326700 (OSGB36)
Small, univallate, partial contour hillfort sited on edge of high ground on rounded hill rising to whaleback outline running NW-SW and above Porth Neigwl (Hell's Mouth) and Afon Soch on the Ll_n Peninsula. Near to Porth Neigwl mine. Surrounding slopes N moderate to strong, S and E moderate, W steep. Measures c. 74m NE-SW by 50m, with internal area 0.28m. Single rampart encircles the ridge, formed by scarping c. 6m below summit on N, E and S and downslope on W. Best on N and S as bank c. 7m plus at its base and nearly 1m above terrace within and nearly 2m outside. On W bank fades to level terrace. On E rampart slight and robbed by modern field bank wall. No ditch visible. N side of rampart ends on NE c. 3m from this wall and here possible entrance. Possible site of hut at S end of site as a 6.7m ill-defined circular platform, and two others. Possibly at least one contemporary enclosure or annexe to S adjacent to hillfort. These defined by low banks. Improved pasture and some scrub. Site generally in poor condition. On 1st Ed. OS map (1889). Minimal investigations, undated.
Citizen Science: ✗
Reliability of Data: Confirmed
Reliability of Interpretation: Confirmed
X: -504427 Y: 6948077 (EPSG: 3857)
Longitude: -4.53134514185613 Latitude: 52.81079520979485 (EPSG:4326)
Country: Wales
Current County or Unitary Authority: Gwynedd
Historic County: Caernarfonshire
Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland: Llanengan
Site generally in poor condition.
| Extant | ✓ |
| Cropmark | ✗ |
| Likely Destroyed | ✗ |
Improved pasture and some scrub.
| Woodland | ✗ |
| Commercial Forestry Plantation | ✗ |
| Parkland | ✗ |
| Pasture (Grazing) | ✓ |
| Arable | ✗ |
| Scrub/Bracken | ✓ |
| Bare Outcrop | ✗ |
| Heather/Moorland | ✗ |
| Heath | ✗ |
| Built-up | ✗ |
| Coastal Grassland | ✗ |
| Other | ✗ |
Small, univallate, partial contour hillfort sited on edge of high ground on rounded hill rising to whaleback outline running NW-SW and above Porth Neigwl (Hell's Mouth) and Afon Soch on the Llyn peninsula. Surrounding slopes N moderate to strong, S and E moderate, W steep.
| 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 ridge
| North | ✗ |
| Northeast | ✗ |
| East | ✗ |
| Southeast | ✗ |
| South | ✗ |
| Southwest | ✗ |
| West | ✗ |
| Northwest | ✓ |
| Level | ✗ |
Altitude: 60.0m
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 1957. Ordnance Survey observation 1972. GAT investigation 1996. GAT prehistoric defended enclosures survey 2005-2006.
| 1st Identified Map Depiction (1889): | OS map. |
| Other (1957): | RCAHMW investigation. |
| Other (1972): | Ordnance Survey observation. |
| Other (1996): | GAT investigation. |
| Other (None): | GAT prehistoric defended enclosures survey. |
Possible site of hut at S end of site as a 6.7m ill-defined circular platform, and two others.
Afon Soch 0.6km ouside fort.
| None | ✓ |
| Spring | ✗ |
| Stream | ✗ |
| Pool | ✗ |
| Flush | ✗ |
| Well | ✗ |
| Other | ✗ |
Possible site of hut at S end of site as a 6.7m ill-defined circular platform, and two others.
| 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 | ✗ |
N side of rampart ends on NE c. 3m from modern field bank wall and here possible entrance.
| 1: | Estimated. |
| 2: | None |
Guard Chambers: ✗
Chevaux de Frise: ✗
| 1. Simple Gap (North east): | None |
Single rampart encircles the ridge, formed by scarping c. 6m below summit on N, E and S and downslope on W. Best on N and S as bank c. 7m plus at its base and nearly 1m above terrace within and nearly 2m outside. On W bank fades to level terrace. On E rampart slight and robbed by modern field bank wall. N side of rampart ends on NE c. 3m from this wall. No ditch visible. 0.28ha.
| Area 1: | 0.28ha. |
| Total: | 0.28ha. |
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 | ✗ |
Probable rubble or stone wall, but not defined.
| 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 |
| ✗ | No ditch visible. |
Number of Ditches: 0
| ✓ | Possibly at least one contemporary enclosure or annexe to S adjacent to hillfort. These defined by low banks. |
RCAHMW 1964. Caernarvonshire Vol III: West, A survey and inventory by the Royal Commission on Ancient and Historical Monuments in Wales and Monmouthshire, No 1600, London: HMSO.
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:
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