Llanfilo Camp

Cadw's description

Summary description and reason for designation

The following provides a general description of the Scheduled Ancient Monument.

The monument comprises the remains of a hillfort, which probably dates to the Iron Age period (c. 800 BC - AD 74, the Roman conquest of Wales). It occupies a ridge top summit and is a large and strongly defended enclosure. In plan it is an elongated oval roughly 330m north to south by 130m. It is defined by multiple banks and ditches on all sides except the north where a single bank lies at the head of steeper ground. The inner bank has been partly denuded by ploughing and the outer banks are generally reduced to outward facing scarps and terraces. Entrance passageways incorporating in-turnings of the inner bank are located to the south and the north east. The approach to the latter has been partly obscured by an area of later quarrying. The interior is sub-divided by a south facing scarp, whether this is an original feature is uncertain. Hillforts must have formed symbols of power within the landscape, while their function may have had as much to do with ostentation and display as defence.

The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of later prehistoric defensive organisation and settlement. The site forms an important element within the wider later prehistoric context and within the surrounding landscape. The site is well preserved and retains considerable archaeological potential. There is a strong probability of the presence of evidence relating to chronology, building techniques and functional detail. The importance of the monument is further enhanced by the group value and association with the adjacent defended enclosure Western Camp (BR039).

The scheduled area comprises the remains described and areas around them within which related evidence may be expected to survive.