LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade
Satellite Imagery
LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade
Satellite Imagery
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HER: Gwynedd 4034 (None)
NMR: SH 55 NE 3 (302638)
SM: None
NGR: SH 5666 5986
X: 256660 Y: 359860 (OSGB36)
Small contour hillfort high above the central Llanberis Pass and Llyn Padarn in Snowdonia. Commanding position at 328m O.D. on lower rocky spur of Moel Eilio (which rises to 726 m O.D.). Steep surrounding scree-covered slopes, and precipitous on NE for 60m, less on SW. Internal area 0.18ha. Only stretch of well-preserved walling on N side, but site possibly originally oval in shape c. 91m ENE-WSW by 30m maximum width. Outer face of rampart composed of large blocks and orthostatics (up to 1m wide by 1m high), with spaces inwards with smaller packing stones. Inner face destroyed but total thickness at least 2m. No ditch. No structures survives within, but hut circles said to be visible in 1865 (Cambrian Archaeological Association, 1865). Original entrance probably at NE corner against very steep natural slopes. Very rough upland moorland and bare rock. Very poorly preserved. On 1st Ed. OS map (1889). Minimal investigations, undated.
Citizen Science: ✗
Reliability of Data: Confirmed
Reliability of Interpretation: Confirmed
X: -461223 Y: 7004593 (EPSG: 3857)
Longitude: -4.143239766129683 Latitude: 53.1165872739126 (EPSG:4326)
Country: Wales
Current County or Unitary Authority: Gwynedd
Historic County: Caernarfonshire
Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland: Llanberis
Very poorly preserved and probably part-destroyed.
| Extant | ✓ |
| Cropmark | ✗ |
| Likely Destroyed | ✓ |
Very rough upland moorland and bare rock.
| Woodland | ✗ |
| Commercial Forestry Plantation | ✗ |
| Parkland | ✗ |
| Pasture (Grazing) | ✓ |
| Arable | ✗ |
| Scrub/Bracken | ✗ |
| Bare Outcrop | ✗ |
| Heather/Moorland | ✗ |
| Heath | ✗ |
| Built-up | ✗ |
| Coastal Grassland | ✗ |
| Other | ✗ |
Small contour hillfort high above the central Llanberis Pass and Llyn Padarn in Snowdonia. Commanding position at 328m O.D. on lower rocky spur of Moel Eilio (which rises to 726 m O.D.).
| 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: Spur
| North | ✗ |
| Northeast | ✗ |
| East | ✗ |
| Southeast | ✗ |
| South | ✗ |
| Southwest | ✗ |
| West | ✗ |
| Northwest | ✗ |
| Level | ✓ |
Altitude: 328.0m
N/A
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 |
Cambrian Archaeological Association noted 1865. On 1st Ed. OS map (1889). Ordnance Survey observation 1973. GAT prehistoric defended enclosures survey 2004-2005.
| Other (1865): | Cambrian Archaeological Association noted. |
| 1st Identified Map Depiction (1889): | OS map. |
| Other (1973): | Ordnance Survey observation. |
| Other (None): | GAT prehistoric defended enclosures survey 2005-2006. |
Hut circles said to be visible in 1865 (Cambrian Archaeological Association, 1865).
Stream 0.3km outside fort.
| None | ✓ |
| Spring | ✗ |
| Stream | ✗ |
| Pool | ✗ |
| Flush | ✗ |
| Well | ✗ |
| Other | ✗ |
Hut circles said to be visible in 1865.
| 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 | ✗ |
Original entrance probably at NE corner against very steep natural slopes.
| None: | Total breaks not defined. Only W end survives. |
| 2: | None |
Guard Chambers: ✗
Chevaux de Frise: ✗
| 1. Simple Gap (North east): | None |
Only W end survives, but possibly originally oval in shape c. 91m ENE-WSW by 24m wide. Outer face of rampart composed of large blocks and orthostatics ,with spaces inwards with smaller masonry. Inner face destroyed but total thickness at least 2m. No ditch. 0.18ha.
| Area 1: | 0.18ha. |
| Total: | 0.18ha. |
Total Footprint Area: Noneha.
None
| ✗ | None |
| ✗ | None |
| NE Quadrant: | 0 |
| SE Quadrant: | 0 |
| 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 | ✗ |
Stone-walled site. Outer face of rampart composed of large blocks and orthostatics, with spaces inwards with smaller masonry.
| 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
| ✗ | None |
Anon 1865. Cambrian Archaeological Association Miscellaneous Notices, Arch Camb, 312.
RCAHMW 1960. Caernarvonshire Vol II: Central, A survey and inventory by the Royal Commission on Ancient and Historical Monuments in Wales and Monmouthshire, No 1136, London: HMSO.
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