LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade
Satellite Imagery
LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade
Satellite Imagery
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HER: Gwynedd 1290 (None)
NMR: SH 53 NW 18 (300956)
SM: CN059
NGR: SH54953890
X: 254950 Y: 338900 (OSGB36)
High, isolated and craggy contour hillfort at the W end of rocky ridge dominating the Afon Glaslyn estuary. Very steep surrounding slopes. Very complex stone-walled site with co-joined enclosures. On SW is oval enclosure, c. 26m E-W by 16m, with larger, less well defined annexe on E. This is set on the perimeter of a larger, irregular enclosure, c. 164m E-W by 94m, having a narrow annexe projecting c. 38m further E. Of the two small conjoined enclosures on W, the E one is surrounded by a slight wall 1.6m thick. No ditches. Encloses 1.4ha. It has been disturbed and partly rebuilt as a sheep shelter. Entrance gap of 1.6m wide on NW main entrance wall 2.6m thick faced with large blocks. Outside to E length of very slight wall 3.3m wide. Craggy rough upland pasture. Walls robbed of stone. Chance finds of Roman coins. Craggy rough upland pasture. Robbed walls. Minimal investigations, undated.
Citizen Science: ✓
Reliability of Data: Confirmed
Reliability of Interpretation: Confirmed
X: -463016 Y: 6969662 (EPSG: 3857)
Longitude: -4.159344435556641 Latitude: 52.927843141905214 (EPSG:4326)
Country: Wales
Current County or Unitary Authority: Gwynedd
Historic County: Caernarfonshire
Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland: Porthmadog
Robbed walls.
| Extant | ✓ |
| Cropmark | ✗ |
| Likely Destroyed | ✗ |
Craggy rough upland pasture.
| Woodland | ✗ |
| Commercial Forestry Plantation | ✗ |
| Parkland | ✗ |
| Pasture (Grazing) | ✓ |
| Arable | ✗ |
| Scrub/Bracken | ✗ |
| Bare Outcrop | ✗ |
| Heather/Moorland | ✗ |
| Heath | ✗ |
| Built-up | ✗ |
| Coastal Grassland | ✗ |
| Other | ✗ |
High, isolated and craggy contour hillfort at the W end of rocky ridge dominating the Afon Glaslyn estuary. Very steep surrounding slopes.
| 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: 262.0m
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: | Roman coins found. one of Costantine II. |
| Artefactual: | Roman coins. |
RCAHMW investigation 1955. Ordnance Survey observation 1963. GAT investigation 1993, 1996. GAT prehistoric defended enclosures survey 2005-2006.
| Other (1955): | RCAHMW investigation. |
| Other (1963): | Ordnance Survey observation. |
| Other (1996): | GAT investigation. |
| Other (None): | GAT investigation. |
| Other (None): | GAT prehistoric defended enclosures survey. |
Coins found by metal detector 1992.
Stream 0.6km 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 | ✗ |
Coins found by metal detector 1992.
| 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 gap of 1.6m wide on NW main entrance wall 2.6m thick faced with large blocks. Outside to E length of very slight wall 3.3m wide.
| None: | Robbed walls - not estimated. |
| 2: | None |
Guard Chambers: ✗
Chevaux de Frise: ✗
| 1. Simple Gap (North west): | None |
| 1. Simple Gap (North west): | Outside to E length of very slight wall 3.3m wide. |
On SW is oval enclosure, c. 2 6m E-W by 16m, with larger, less well defined annexe on E. This is set on the perimeter of a larger, irregular enclosure, c. 164m E-W by 94m, having a narrow annexe projecting c. 38m further E. Of the two small conjoined enclosures on W, the E one is surrounded by a slight wall 1.6m thick. No ditches. 1.4ha. It has been disturbed and partly rebuilt as a sheep shelter.
| Area 1: | 1.4ha. |
| Total: | 1.4ha. |
Total Footprint Area: Noneha.
None
| ✗ | None |
| ✗ | Too complex to determine quadrants accurately. |
| NE Quadrant: | None |
| SE Quadrant: | None |
| SW Quadrant: | None |
| NW Quadrant: | None |
| Total: | None |
| 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: 0
| ✓ | Complex co-joined enclosures. On SW is oval enclosure, c. 2 6m E-W by 16m, with larger, less well defined annexe on E. This is set on the perimeter of a larger, irregular enclosure, c. 164m E-W by 94m, having a narrow annexe projecting c. 38m further E. |
RCAHMW 1960. Caernarvonshire Vol II: Central, A survey and inventory by the Royal Commission on Ancient and Historical Monuments in Wales and Monmouthshire, No 1348, 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:
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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