Dinas Cerdin

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). Hillforts are usually located on hilltops and surrounded by a single or multiple earthworks of massive proportions. 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. Dinas Cerdin stands on a south-facing spur above the confluence of two streams. It is an oval enclosure, measuring c.90m north-south by c.60m, defined by two lines of scarps above steep natural slopes except on the north, where the scarps rise to form more defined ramparts with an intervening ditch across the easier approach. There is a probable entrance through these on the north-west. At least six building platforms lie within the southern part of the enclosure, around a higher natural knoll.

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.