LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade
Satellite Imagery
LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade
Satellite Imagery
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HER: Glamorgan Gwent 00138w (None)
NMR: SS 48 NW 29 (301324)
SM: GM192
NGR: SS43498604
X: 243490 Y: 186040 (OSGB36)
Small univallate coastal promontory fort on E-W headland overlooking a small bay opposite to The Knave promontory fort and next to Yellow Top fort and Paviland Cave on the Gower. Precipitous sea cliffs to 60m high to N, S and W sides; landward to E moderate. Very exposed. Defences at E end of the narrow promontory, with minimum of construction detail, and measures. c. 65m in length with varying width of 18m-40m and internal area c. 0.4ha. Single curving limestone rubble bank, 5.5m-6.5m wide and to 2m high externally, cuts off the promontory to the E, with ditch on landward side, although only visible at S end where to 5m wide. Elsewhere destroyed by quarrying. Inner scarp's stepped appearance could indicate wall walk, or maybe just stone robbing as at The Knave. The N extremity of the bank eroded, but can be traced to the cliff edge. At SE end it stops abruptly and this is possible the site of the entrance. Bank terminal inturned with possible guard chamber. No interior structures visible. On 1st Ed. OS map (1879). Minimal investigations, undated.
Citizen Science: ✗
Reliability of Data: Confirmed
Reliability of Interpretation: Confirmed
X: -474092 Y: 6719422 (EPSG: 3857)
Longitude: -4.258838512659159 Latitude: 51.55143615824182 (EPSG:4326)
Country: Wales
Current County or Unitary Authority: Swansea
Historic County: Glamorgan
Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland: Rhossili
Coastal erosion. Public coastal path. N extremity of bank eroded. Ditch destroyed by quarrying except at S end of bank.
| Extant | ✓ |
| Cropmark | ✗ |
| Likely Destroyed | ✓ |
Coastal grassland and bare rock. Quarrying.
| Woodland | ✗ |
| Commercial Forestry Plantation | ✗ |
| Parkland | ✗ |
| Pasture (Grazing) | ✗ |
| Arable | ✗ |
| Scrub/Bracken | ✗ |
| Bare Outcrop | ✗ |
| Heather/Moorland | ✗ |
| Heath | ✗ |
| Built-up | ✗ |
| Coastal Grassland | ✓ |
| Other | ✓ |
Small univallate coastal promontory fort overlooking a small bay opposite to The Knave promontory fort and next to Yellow Top fort and Paviland Cave. Precipitous sea cliffs to 60m high to N, S and W sides; landward to E moderate.
| 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: 60.0m
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 (1879). RCAHMW investigation 1965. GGAT Prehistoric defended enclosures in Glamorgan survey 2005.
| 1st Identified Map Depiction (1879): | OS map. |
| Other (1965): | RCAHMW investigation. |
| Other (1986): | Visited by Hillfort Study Group |
| Other (2005): | GGAT Prehistoric defended enclosures in Glamorgan survey. |
None
Spring c. 1km 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 | ✗ |
At SE end bank stops abruptly and this is possible the site of the entrance. Bank terminal inturned with possible guard chamber.
| 1: | None |
| 2: | None |
Guard Chambers: ✓
Chevaux de Frise: ✗
| 1. In-turned (South east): | None |
| 1. Recesses/Guard Chambers (South east): | Possible guard chamber. |
Single curving limestone rubble bank, 5.5m-6.5m wide and to 2m high externally, cuts off the promontory to the E, with ditch on landward side, although only visible at S end where to 5m wide. Elsewhere destroyed by quarrying. Inner scarp's stepped appearance could indicate wall walk, or maybe just stone robbing as at The Knave. The N extremity of the bank eroded, but can be traced to the cliff edge
| Area 1: | 0.4ha. |
| Total: | 0.4ha. |
Total Footprint Area: Noneha.
None
| ✗ | None |
| ✗ | None |
| NE Quadrant: | 1 |
| SE Quadrant: | 1 |
| SW Quadrant: | 0 |
| NW Quadrant: | 0 |
| Total: | 1 |
| Partial Univallate | ✓ |
| Univallate | ✗ |
| Partial Bivallate | ✗ |
| Bivallate | ✗ |
| Partial Multivallate | ✗ |
| Multivallate | ✗ |
| Unknown | ✗ |
| Partial Univallate | ✗ |
| Univallate | ✗ |
| Partial Bivallate | ✗ |
| Bivallate | ✗ |
| Partial Multivallate | ✗ |
| Multivallate | ✗ |
Limestone rubble bank. Possible wall walk.
| 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 |
Gerrard, C., Wiggins, H., and Evans, E. 2006. Prehistoric defended enclosures in Glamorgan with recommendations for fieldwork: Year 3 Report, GGAT Report No. 2006/089, Project No. GGAT78, Swansea: GGAT.
RCAHMW 1976. An inventory of the ancient monuments in Glamorgan, Vol I: Pre-Norman, Part II The Iron Age and the Roman occupation, No. 622, Cardiff: HMSO.
Savory, H.N. 1949. List of hill-forts in Wales, Bull Board Celtic Stud, 13, 157.
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