Castell Flemish

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 Iocated on hilltops and surrounded by a single or multiple earthworks of massive proportions. This monument consists of a fairly flat space surrounded by a bank at most c.2m above the interior. The ditch and counterscarp (there is no trace of a second ditch) are usually visible except in places on the south. There is a single simple entrance on NE side (modern gap c. 20m to W of it). 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 in the charters of Strata Florida Abbey, an estate in which Castell Flemish was included, and presumably the centre was the gift of the Lord Rhys in 1184. It is possible that this fortress, with its lands, was inherited by Rhys but having become militarily useless formed a suitable endowment for the abbey.

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.