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HER:  Dyfed 641 (None)
NMR:  SN 51 NE (303967)
SM:  CM150(CAM)
NGR:  SN57641898
X:  257640  Y:  218980  (OSGB36)
Small, univallate, partial contour hillfort located at E end of NE-SW hill top ridge of Pen y Garn above the Afon Tywi. Opposite Dryslwyn Castle (Atlas No. 2124) and Grongaer (Atlas No. 2126). Moderate to strong or steep surrounding slopes. Measures c. 35m square, with internal area c. 0.12ha. Defined by undulating bank on SW, W and NW, and pronounced scarp on N and NE. No ditch defined. Wooded site and much overgrown with scrub and brambles making interpretation very difficult. On 1st Ed. OS map 1886-87. Minimal investigations, undated.
Citizen Science:  ✗
Reliability of Data:  Confirmed
Reliability of Interpretation:  Confirmed
X:  -452887  Y:  6773260  (EPSG: 3857)
Longitude:  -4.068351569636953  Latitude:  51.85116907282791  (EPSG:4326)
Country:  Wales
Current County or Unitary Authority:  Carmarthenshire
Historic County:  Carmarthenshire
Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland:  Llanfihangel Aberbythych
Woodland hampers investigation. Much gone.
| Extant   | ✓ |
| Cropmark   | ✗ |
| Likely Destroyed   | ✗ |
Wooded site and much overgrown with scrub and brambles.
| Woodland   | ✓ |
| Commercial Forestry Plantation   | ✗ |
| Parkland   | ✗ |
| Pasture (Grazing)   | ✗ |
| Arable   | ✗ |
| Scrub/Bracken   | ✓ |
| Bare Outcrop   | ✗ |
| Heather/Moorland   | ✗ |
| Heath   | ✗ |
| Built-up   | ✗ |
| Coastal Grassland   | ✗ |
| Other   | ✗ |
Small, univallate, partial contour hillfort located at E end of NE-SW hill top ridge above the Afon Tywi. Moderate to strong or steep surrounding slopes.
| 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:  Ridge
| North   | ✗ |
| Northeast   | ✓ |
| East   | ✗ |
| Southeast   | ✗ |
| South   | ✗ |
| Southwest   | ✗ |
| West   | ✗ |
| Northwest   | ✗ |
| Level   | ✗ |
Altitude:  204.0m
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 1886-87. Field Observations OS 1968. Field observations CADW 1986, 1992, 1998. Dyfed Archaeological Trust defended enclosures survey 2007-2008.
| Other (1968):   | Field Observations OS 1968. |
| 1st Identified Map Depiction (None):   | OS map. |
| Other (None):   | Field observations CADW. |
| Other (None):   | Dyfed Archaeological Trust defended enclosures survey. |
None
Stream 0.4 km outside fort.
| 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   | ✗ |
Entrance gap close to W angle. Suggestions of entrance on S with terrace, but not visible now.
| 1:   | None |
| 2:   | None |
Guard Chambers:  ✗
Chevaux de Frise:  ✗
| 1. Simple Gap (West):   | Entrance gap close to W angle. |
| 2. Simple Gap (South):   | Suggestions of entrance on S with terrace, but not visible now. |
Defined by undulating bank on SW, W and NW, and pronounced scarp on N and NE. No ditch. 0.12ha.
| Area 1:   | 0.12ha. |
| Total:   | 0.12ha. |
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   | ✗ |
Traces of walling.
| 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 |
| ✗   | Ditch not defined. |
Number of Ditches:  0
| ✗   | None |
Murphy, F., Ramsey, R., Page, M. and Murphy, K. 2008. A Survey of Defended Enclosures in Carmarthenshire, 2007-08: Gazetteer of Ordnance Survey Grid Squares SN51, SN52 and SN54, Dyfed Archaeological Trust Report No. 2007/27, Project Record No. 62767, Llandeilo: Dyfed Archaeological Trust.
Royal Commission on the ancient and historical monuments and constructions in Wales and Monmouthshire 1917. An inventory of the ancient monuments in Wales and Monmouthshire, V, Carmarthen, 376, London: HMSO.
Savory, H.N. 1954. List of hill-forts and other earthworks in Carmarthenshire. Bull Board Celtic Stud, 16, 61.
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