LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade
Satellite Imagery
LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade
Satellite Imagery
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HER: Gwynedd 4749 (None)
NMR: SH 72 SW 3 (303074)
SM: ME035
NGR: SH74802060
X: 274800 Y: 320600 (OSGB36)
Partial contour hillfort, one of a cluster of high and exposed small stone-walled sites located near Dolgellau above the confluence of the Afon Mawddach and Afon Wnion and sited on craggy knoll on lower SW slopes of Moel Offrwm, 0.4km to NE, and below hillfort of that name (Atlas No. 1780). Steep and very steep rocky slopes on all sides with rocky outcrops. Roughly oval area about 54m E-W by 34m with internal area 0.14ha. Single, ruinous, dry-stone wall, part double in places, is strongest on the S side with a great mass of fallen material and delineates the site. No ditch. Entrance in the middle of S side, but its present line into the fort probably not original, and, as with other sites in the vicinity, may have been oblique with a projecting bastion on W side. Excavations in 1926-28 by Mrs Wynne-Jones and L.F. Chitty proved entrance out-turned. Observations of a summit cairn and possible circular structure within irregular interior not confirmed. Finds included thin bronze finger-ring and small sherds thought to be Romano-British. Moorland, rough grass and bare rock outcrops. Fair condition for a stone-walled site. On 1st Ed. OS map (1889).
Citizen Science: ✗
Reliability of Data: Confirmed
Reliability of Interpretation: Confirmed
X: -429380 Y: 6940276 (EPSG: 3857)
Longitude: -3.857189902147366 Latitude: 52.7684188779866 (EPSG:4326)
Country: Wales
Current County or Unitary Authority: Gwynedd
Historic County: Merioneth
Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland: Brithdir and Llanfachreth
Fair condition for a stone-walled site.
| Extant | ✓ |
| Cropmark | ✗ |
| Likely Destroyed | ✗ |
Moorland, rough grass and bare rock outcrops.
| Woodland | ✗ |
| Commercial Forestry Plantation | ✗ |
| Parkland | ✗ |
| Pasture (Grazing) | ✗ |
| Arable | ✗ |
| Scrub/Bracken | ✗ |
| Bare Outcrop | ✗ |
| Heather/Moorland | ✓ |
| Heath | ✗ |
| Built-up | ✗ |
| Coastal Grassland | ✗ |
| Other | ✗ |
Partial contour hillfort located above the confluence of the Afon Mawddach and Afon Wnion and sited on craggy knoll on lower SW slopes of Moel Offrwm, 0.4km to NE. Steep and very steep rocky slopes on all sides with rocky outcrops.
| 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: Knoll
| North | ✗ |
| Northeast | ✗ |
| East | ✗ |
| Southeast | ✗ |
| South | ✗ |
| Southwest | ✓ |
| West | ✗ |
| Northwest | ✗ |
| Level | ✗ |
Altitude: 320.0m
N/A
None. Possible Bronze Age cairn. Possible Roman pottery from excavation.
Reliability: D - None
| Pre 1200BC | ✗ |
| 1200BC - 800BC | ✗ |
| 800BC - 400BC | ✗ |
| 400BC - AD50 | ✗ |
| AD50 - AD400 | ✗ |
| AD400 - AD 800 | ✗ |
| Post AD800 | ✗ |
| Unknown | ✓ |
| Pre Hillfort: | None |
| Post Hillfort: | Possible Roman activity. |
On 1st Ed. OS map (1889). Excavations by Mrs Wynne-Jones and L.F. Chitty 1926-28. Ordnance Survey observation 1973. GAT investigation 1989, 1994. GAT prehistoric defended enclosures survey 2005-2006.
| 1st Identified Map Depiction (1889): | OS map. |
| Other (1973): | Ordnance Survey observation. |
| Other (1985): | Visited by Hillfort Study Group |
| Excavation (None): | Mrs Wynne-Jones and L.F. Chitty. |
| Other (None): | GAT investigation. |
| Other (None): | GAT prehistoric defended enclosures survey. |
Observations of a possible circular structure, about 6.0m in diameter and cairn on summit not confirmed. Finds ifrom excavations included thin bronze finger-ring and small sherds thought to be Romano-British, black soil with burnt bone fragments over summit.
Stream 0.6km outside fort.
| None | ✓ |
| Spring | ✗ |
| Stream | ✗ |
| Pool | ✗ |
| Flush | ✗ |
| Well | ✗ |
| Other | ✗ |
Observations of a possible circular structure, about 6.0m in diameter and cairn on summit not confirmed.
| 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 | ✗ |
Finds included thin bronze finger ring and small sherds thought to be Romano-British, black soil with burnt bone fragments over summit area.
| 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 | ✗ |
Out-turned entrance in the middle of S side, but its present line into the fort probably not original, and, as with other sites in the vicinity, may have been oblique with a projecting bastion on W side. Excavations in 1926-28 by Mrs Wynne-Jones and L.F. Chitty proved entrance out-turned.
| None: | Ruinous walls - cannot be determined. |
| 2: | Excavations in 1926-28 by Mrs Wynne-Jones and L.F. Chitty proved entrance out-turned. |
Guard Chambers: ✗
Chevaux de Frise: ✗
| 1. Out-turned (South): | None |
| 1. Oblique (South): | Possibly oblique. |
Single, ruinous, dry-stone wall, part double in places, is strongest on the S side with a great mass of fallen material and delineates the site. No ditch. 0.14ha.
| Area 1: | 0.14ha. |
| Total: | 0.14ha. |
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 | ✗ |
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
| ✗ | None |
Bowen, E.G. and Gresham, C.A. 1967. History of Merioneth 1, Dolgellau, 162-63.
Chitty, L. F. 1929. Excavations in Moel Offrwm Lower Camp, Llanfachreth, Bull Board Celtic Stud, IV, 279.
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