Castell Perthi-Mawr

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, 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. This monument consists of two concentric lines of scarped slopes without clear ditches enclosing an oval area measuring c.150m east-north-east to west-south-west by c.96m on the top of an isolated hill in an area of rough pasture. The inner bank shows traces of a dry stone wall c.1.5m thick. The only certain gate is on the north-west where a track passes obliquely through the outer bank and the ends of the inner rampart are incurved. A slighter gap on the east side of the inner bank does not correspond to an opening on the outer bank and may be modern.

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.