Caer Lletty-Llwyd

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. Caer Lletty-Llwyd consists of a roughly triangular hill defended by two circuits of scarps which stand c.2.5 to c.3m high on the outer side, but are virtually level on the inner. The ground falls more steeply on the south and the scarps here are less pronounced, but on the weaker north-east, and to a lesser extent on the north, there is an extra line of defence, and the defences appear as banks, with ditches in between, rising to a maximum height of c.5m. There are traces of an entrance on the north.

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.