LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade
Satellite Imagery
LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade
Satellite Imagery
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HER: Gwynedd 3682 (None)
NMR: SH 56 NW 10 (95308)
SM: CN047
NGR: SH51906710
X: 251900 Y: 367100 (OSGB36)
Coastal promontory fort, set on SE shore of Menai Strait on natural ridge rising to 21m O.D. then falling to Strait in a cliff forming natural defence on NW. Rampart cuts off SE landward side with semi-circle 119m in diameter with an entrance near the middle, enclosed area approx. 0.5ha No ditch. E of entrance rampart levelled, but to W now artificial scarp capped by rubble bank c. 3.6m wide and 3m-6m high. Against bank are footings of two large rectangular buildings, probably medieval. Hoard of Roman coins found. Overgrown and setting affected by development on E. On 1st Ed. OS map (1889). Minimal investigations, undated.
Citizen Science: ✗
Reliability of Data: Confirmed
Reliability of Interpretation: Confirmed
X: -469507 Y: 7016422 (EPSG: 3857)
Longitude: -4.2176555862252405 Latitude: 53.18031870598095 (EPSG:4326)
Country: Wales
Current County or Unitary Authority: Gwynedd
Historic County: Caernarfonshire
Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland: Y Felinheli
Setting affected by buildings on E side. Bank levelled E of entrance.
| Extant | ✓ |
| Cropmark | ✗ |
| Likely Destroyed | ✗ |
Very overgrown.
| Woodland | ✓ |
| Commercial Forestry Plantation | ✗ |
| Parkland | ✗ |
| Pasture (Grazing) | ✗ |
| Arable | ✗ |
| Scrub/Bracken | ✓ |
| Bare Outcrop | ✗ |
| Heather/Moorland | ✗ |
| Heath | ✗ |
| Built-up | ✗ |
| Coastal Grassland | ✗ |
| Other | ✗ |
Coastal promontory fort, set on SE shore of Menai Strait on natural ridge rising to 21m O.D. then falling to Strait in a cliff forming natural defence on NW. Rampart
| 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: Coastal promontory
| North | ✗ |
| Northeast | ✗ |
| East | ✗ |
| Southeast | ✗ |
| South | ✗ |
| Southwest | ✗ |
| West | ✗ |
| Northwest | ✗ |
| Level | ✓ |
Altitude: 21.0m
N/A
None. Possible - against bank are footings of two large rectangular buildings, probably medieval. Hoard of Roman coins found.
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 1947. Ordnance Survey observation 1967, 1970. GAT investigations 1989, 1990, 1995. GAT Coastal Erosion Survey: Aberdaron Bay to the Great Orme 1993. GAT prehistoric defended enclosures survey 2004-2005.
| 1st Identified Map Depiction (1889): | OS map. |
| Other (1947): | RCAHMW investigation. |
| Other (1993): | Coastal Erosion Survey. |
| Other (None): | Ordnance Survey observation. |
| Other (None): | GAT prehistoric defended enclosures survey. |
Hoard of Roman coins found.
None
| None | ✓ |
| Spring | ✗ |
| Stream | ✗ |
| Pool | ✗ |
| Flush | ✗ |
| Well | ✗ |
| Other | ✗ |
Against bank are footings of two large rectangular buildings, probably medieval.
| 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 | ✗ |
Hoard of Roman coins found.
| 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 in middle of rampart at SE.
| None: | Not determined. |
| 2: | None |
Guard Chambers: ✗
Chevaux de Frise: ✗
| 1. Simple Gap (South east): | None |
Rampart cuts off landward with semi-circle 119m in diameter enclosing with an entrance near the middle. E of entrance rampart levelled, but to W now artificial scarp capped by rubble bank c. 3.6m wide and 3m-6m high. No ditch.
| Area 1: | 0.5ha. |
| Total: | 0.5ha. |
Total Footprint Area: Noneha.
None
| ✗ | Area from 1901 Six inch |
| ✗ | None |
| NE Quadrant: | 0 |
| SE Quadrant: | 1 |
| SW Quadrant: | 0 |
| NW Quadrant: | 0 |
| Total: | 1 |
| Partial Univallate | ✓ |
| Univallate | ✗ |
| Partial Bivallate | ✗ |
| Bivallate | ✗ |
| Partial Multivallate | ✗ |
| Multivallate | ✗ |
| Unknown | ✗ |
| Partial Univallate | ✗ |
| Univallate | ✗ |
| Partial Bivallate | ✗ |
| Bivallate | ✗ |
| Partial Multivallate | ✗ |
| Multivallate | ✗ |
Rubble bank.
| 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 recorded. |
Number of Ditches: 0
| ✗ | None |
RCAHMW 1960. Caernarvonshire Vol II: Central, A survey and inventory by the Royal Commission on Ancient and Historical Monuments in Wales and Monmouthshire, No 1251, London: HMSO.
Riley, H. and Smith, G. 1993. Coastal Erosion Survey: Aberdaron Bay to the Great Orme, GAT Report No. 079, Bangor: Gwynedd Archaeological Trust.
Smith, G.H. 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:
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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