Coed Fenni-Fach 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). The hillfort measures 131m north-east to south-west by 87m and is bounded by a much reduced but still clearly defined bank and silted ditch. It occupies the summit of a prominent isolated hill on the northern bank of the Usk with extensive views (now partly blocked by trees) along the valley in both directions. Steeper slopes to the northern and western sides provide stronger natural defences but the enclosure is set back from these edge and the approaches on the remaining sides are relatively gentle. The hillfort has been tree covered since at least the 19th century. On the N and W sides the rampart has been reduced to a single outward facing earth and stone scarp standing up to 2.8m above the faint depression of the ditch. The bank is better preserved on the NE side where its inner face is up to 0.9m high and the outer face between 2.7 and 3.4m above the base of the ditch which is a well-defined hollow 0.2m deep. There is what may be an original entrance on the SW side of the hillfort where there is an in-turned bank either side of an opening leading into a hollow way. A breach in the rampart on the NE side is likely to be a later feature, related to a later boundary bank of some age that runs SW/NE across the interior of the hillfort. There are traces of relatively recent quarrying activity within the interior of the enclosure. An excavation was carried out by CPAT in 2018 to establish the extent of damage to the archaeological resource by the forestry plantations, and to test for in situ remains. Four trenches were excavated in the S half of the interior. These revealed very little evidence for the Iron Age occupation of the hillfort, with a stony layer adjacent to the inner edge of the rampart the only in situ remains identified.

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