Satellite Imagery
Satellite Imagery
HER: Dyfed 2714 (None)
NMR: SM 72 SW 7 (305399)
SM: PE295(PEM)
NGR: SM 7238 2466
X: 172380 Y: 224660 (OSGB36)
Badly eroded coastal promontory fort located on NW-facing promontory dominating the bay at St Justinian near Ramsey Island and above Ogof Mary natural arch. High 25m sea cliffs on N, SW and W sides, flat landward to coastal plateau to E. Irregularly shaped interior measures c. 90m SE-NW by 40m, with area c. 0.44ha. Landward side on E protected by curving bivallate rampart, c. 115m long, with inner bank to 2.5m above interior and 2.3m above bottom of ditch. Outer bank similar. On SE, an additional long, but slight, curving bank located between the main two, its purpose unclear, but possible to protect an entrance here which is no longer visible because of landslips and field boundaries. However, it could be later. Banks composed of earth and stone with dry-stone revetment revealed in erosion pockets, now repaired. Under rough coastal grassland with bracken and some scrub. On 1st Ed. OS map (1889). Minimal investigations, undated. C
Citizen Science: ✗
Reliability of Data: Confirmed
Reliability of Interpretation: Confirmed
X: -590904 Y: 6777358 (EPSG: 3857)
Longitude: -5.308178759075885 Latitude: 51.873902815847885 (EPSG:4326)
Country: Wales
Current County or Unitary Authority: Pembrokeshire
Historic County: Pembrokeshire
Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland: St Davids and the Cathedral Close St David's
Badly eroded by sea and much lost. Pembrokeshire Coast Path passes through site.
| Extant | ✓ |
| Cropmark | ✗ |
| Likely Destroyed | ✗ |
Coastal rough grassland, bracken and scrub.
| Woodland | ✗ |
| Commercial Forestry Plantation | ✗ |
| Parkland | ✗ |
| Pasture (Grazing) | ✗ |
| Arable | ✗ |
| Scrub/Bracken | ✓ |
| Bare Outcrop | ✗ |
| Heather/Moorland | ✗ |
| Heath | ✗ |
| Built-up | ✗ |
| Coastal Grassland | ✓ |
| Other | ✗ |
Badly eroded coastal promontory fort located on NW-facing promontory dominating the bay at St Justinian near Ramsey Island and above Ogof Mary natural arch. High 25m sea cliffs on N, SW and W sides, flat landward to coastal plateau to E.
| 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: 23.0m
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: | None |
On 1st Ed. OS map (1889). Field Observation OS 1966. Field Obsvervation AMB 1981. Field Observation Arch Survey NT 1989. Field Observation DAT 1994, 1996. Field Observation CADW 1990, 1995. Cambria Archaeology defended enclosures survey 2006-2007.
| 1st Identified Map Depiction (1889): | OS map. |
| Other (1966): | Field observation OS. |
| Other (1981): | Field observation AMB. |
| Other (1989): | Field Observation Arch Survey NT. |
| Other (None): | Field observation CADW. |
| Other (None): | Field observation DAT. |
| Other (None): | Cambria Archaeology defended enclosures survey. |
None
None
| 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 | ✗ |
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 | ✗ |
On SE, an additional long, but slight, curving bank located between the main two, its purpose unclear, but possible to protect an entrance here which is no longer visible because of landslips and field boundaries.
| 1: | None |
| 2: | No longer visible. |
Guard Chambers: ✗
Chevaux de Frise: ✗
| 1. Simple Gap (South east): | Type estimated. |
Landward side on E protected by curving bivallate rampart, c. 115m long, with inner bank to 2.5m above interior and 2.3m above bottom of ditch. Outer bank similar. On SE, an additional long, but slight, curving bank located between the main two, its purpose unclear, but possible to protect an entrancehere, or could be later. Banks composed of earth and stone with dry-stone revetment revealed in erosion pockets, now repaired.
| Area 1: | 0.44ha. |
| Total: | 0.44ha. |
Total Footprint Area: Noneha.
None
| ✗ | None |
| ✗ | None |
| NE Quadrant: | 2 |
| SE Quadrant: | 2 |
| SW Quadrant: | 0 |
| NW Quadrant: | 0 |
| Total: | 2 |
| Partial Univallate | ✗ |
| Univallate | ✗ |
| Partial Bivallate | ✓ |
| Bivallate | ✗ |
| Partial Multivallate | ✗ |
| Multivallate | ✗ |
| Unknown | ✗ |
| Partial Univallate | ✗ |
| Univallate | ✗ |
| Partial Bivallate | ✗ |
| Bivallate | ✗ |
| Partial Multivallate | ✗ |
| Multivallate | ✗ |
Banks composed of earth and stone with dry-stone revetment revealed in erosion pockets, now repaired.
| 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: 1
| ✗ | None |
Crossley, D.W. 1963. List of Hill-Forts and other earthworks in Pembrokeshire, Bull Board Celtic Stud, 20, 174.
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 SM72 and SM82, 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. 945.
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