Daren 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 large hillfort in good condition, situated nearly 300m above sea level and probably dating 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, and 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. Daren Camp is a large oval hilltop enclosure surrounded by a single bank up to c.5m externally and 2m internally, with simple entrances on the west and east. Another break through the bank on the north-west is likely to be modern. A second bank along the western side, lying up to c.20m outside the first, has been disturbed by mining activity and field boundaries; there are traces of yet a third another c.20m beyond this, which survives towards its south end but has been even more disturbed by field boundaries and by the adjacent mining cut.

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.