Satellite Imagery
Satellite Imagery
HER: Dyfed 603 (None)
NMR: SR 99 SW 2 (305417)
SM: PE319(PEM)
NGR: SR 9359 9432
X: 193590 Y: 194320 (OSGB36)
Coastal promontory fort located on Moody Nose SW-facing rocky headland commanding Flimston Bay to W and Bullslaughter Bay to E. Sea cliffs to S, E and W sides, moderate landward to N. Opposite Flimston Bay Camp (Atlas No1880). Interior measures c. 84m by 86m, but much eroded, with area 0.45ha. Sloping rocky headland cut off on N by single semicircular bank,to 1m high, and slight ditch, c. 100m long and overlooked by crags on N. Entrance at the apex of the curve. Two hut circles visible. Small excavation by Grimes, published in 1931, found burnt clay floor nearly 0.5m thick strewn with 3rd-4th century AD Roman pottery, burnt bone and other occupation debris, stone faces to rampart. Fenton (1811) referred to part of a skeleton with attached brooch. Possibly later use of site? Severe coastal erosion. Rocky coastal grassland. Within MOD Firing Range Danger Area. On 1st Ed. OS map (1865).
Citizen Science: ✗
Reliability of Data: Confirmed
Reliability of Interpretation: Confirmed
X: -554652 Y: 6729866 (EPSG: 3857)
Longitude: -4.982519342726953 Latitude: 51.609734993821945 (EPSG:4326)
Country: Wales
Current County or Unitary Authority: Pembrokeshire
Historic County: Pembrokeshire
Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland: Castlemartin
Severe coastal erosion. Pembrokeshire Coast Path to N. MOD Firing Range Danger Area with notices for access times.
| Extant | ✓ |
| Cropmark | ✗ |
| Likely Destroyed | ✗ |
Coastal grassland and bare rock.
| Woodland | ✗ |
| Commercial Forestry Plantation | ✗ |
| Parkland | ✗ |
| Pasture (Grazing) | ✗ |
| Arable | ✗ |
| Scrub/Bracken | ✗ |
| Bare Outcrop | ✗ |
| Heather/Moorland | ✗ |
| Heath | ✗ |
| Built-up | ✗ |
| Coastal Grassland | ✓ |
| Other | ✗ |
Coastal promontory fort located on Moody Nose SW-facing headland opposite Flimston fort and commandingFlimston Bay to W and Bullslaughter Bay to E. Sea cliffs to S, E and W sides, moderate landward to N.
| 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 headland
| North | ✗ |
| Northeast | ✗ |
| East | ✗ |
| Southeast | ✗ |
| South | ✗ |
| Southwest | ✓ |
| West | ✗ |
| Northwest | ✗ |
| Level | ✗ |
Altitude: 35.0m
N/A
Grimes (1931), found burnt clay floor nearly 0.5m thick strewn with 3rd-4th century AD Roman pottery, burnt bone and other occupation debris.Fenton (1811) referred to part of a skeleton with attached brooch, possibly later use of site?
Reliability: C - Low
| Pre 1200BC | ✗ |
| 1200BC - 800BC | ✗ |
| 800BC - 400BC | ✗ |
| 400BC - AD50 | ✗ |
| AD50 - AD400 | ✓ |
| AD400 - AD 800 | ✗ |
| Post AD800 | ✗ |
| Unknown | ✗ |
| Pre Hillfort: | None |
| Post Hillfort: | None |
| Artefactual: | Roman pottery. |
Noted by Fenton 1811. On 1st Ed. OS map (1865). Field Observation OS 1965. Field Observation DAT 1981, 1994, 2004. Field Observation CADW 1999. Part Excavation W.F. Grimes in 1930?, published 1931. Cambria Archaeology defended enclosures survey 2006-2007.
| 1st Identified Written Reference (1811): | Noted by Fenton. |
| 1st Identified Map Depiction (1865): | OS map. |
| Other (1965): | Field observation OS. |
| Other (1999): | Field observation CADW. |
| Excavation (None): | W.F. Grimes. |
| Other (None): | Field observation DAT. |
| Other (None): | Cambria Archaeology defended enclosures survey |
Two hut circles in interior. Romano-British pottery, from what appears to have been a building of some kind, and burnt clay floor and occupation debris found by Grimes (1931). Partial skeleton with what may have been a bronze signet ring, or brooch noted by Fenton (1811).
Stream 0.7km outside fort. Romano-British pottery from what appears to have been a building of some kind. Partial skeleton with what may have been a bronze signet ring, or brooch.
| None | ✓ |
| Spring | ✗ |
| Stream | ✗ |
| Pool | ✗ |
| Flush | ✗ |
| Well | ✗ |
| Other | ✗ |
Two hut circles visible.
| No Known Features | ✗ |
| Round Stone Structures | ✗ |
| Rectangular Stone Structures | ✗ |
| Curvilinear Platforms | ✗ |
| Other Roundhouse Evidence | ✓ |
| Pits | ✗ |
| Quarry Hollows | ✗ |
| Other | ✗ |
Burnt clay floor and occupation debris.
| 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 | ✗ |
Romano-British pottery from what appears to have been a building of some kind. Partial skeleton with what may have been a bronze signet ring, or brooch noted by Fenton (1811) - caution needed here.
| 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 at the apex of the curve of the N bank, simple gap. Three other gaps in bank; probably later.
| 4: | Three other gaps in bank; probably later. |
| 2: | None |
Guard Chambers: ✗
Chevaux de Frise: ✗
| 1. Simple Gap (North): | None |
Headland cut of on N by single semicircular bank, to 1m high, and slight ditch, c. 100m long. Grimes (1931) found evidence of stone wall.
| Area 1: | 0.45ha. |
| Total: | 0.45ha. |
Total Footprint Area: Noneha.
None
| ✗ | None |
| ✗ | None |
| NE Quadrant: | 1 |
| SE Quadrant: | 0 |
| SW Quadrant: | 0 |
| 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 walling found by excavation.
| None | ✗ |
| Earthen Bank | ✗ |
| Stone Wall | ✓ |
| Rubble | ✗ |
| Wall-walk | ✗ |
| Evidence of Timber | ✗ |
| Vitrification | ✗ |
| Other Burning | ✗ |
| Palisade | ✗ |
| Counter Scarp Bank | ✗ |
| Berm | ✗ |
| Unfinished | ✗ |
| Other | ✗ |
Grimes suggests stone walling in bank.
| 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 |
| ✓ | Slight ditch visible. |
Number of Ditches: 1
| ✗ | None |
Barker, L. and Driver, T., 2011. Close to the Edge: New Perspectives on the Architecture, Function and Regional Geographies of the Coastal Promontory Forts of the Castlemartin Peninsula, South Pembrokeshire, Wales. Proc Prehist Soc, 77, 65-87.
Crossley, D.W. 1963. List of Hill-Forts and other earthworks in Pembrokeshire, Bull Board Celtic Stud, 20, 178.
Fenton, R. 1811. A historical tour through Pembrokeshire, London, 412.
Grimes, W.F. 1931. Roman-British pottery from Crocksydam Camp, Warren , Pemb., Bull Board Celtic Stud, 5, 394-5.
Murphy, K., Ramsey, R., Poucher, P. and Page, M. 2007. A Survey of Defended Enclosures in Pembrokeshire, 2006-2007: Gazetteer of Ordnance Survey Grid Squares SR89, SR99, SS09 and SS19, Cambria Archaeology Report No. 2007/01, Project Record No. 54269, Llandeilo: Cambria Archaeology.
RCAMWM 1925. An inventory of the ancient monuments in Wales and Monmouthshire, VII, County of Pembroke, London: HMSO, No. 1160.
Rees, S. 1992. A guide to ancient and historic Wales - Dyfed, London: HMSO, 81.
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