Pant Mawr Hillfort

Cadw's description

Summary description and reason for designation

The following provides a general description of the Scheduled 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. Pant Mawr is a well preserved example of a strongly defended hillfort set on an inland promontory overlooking the Afon Ystwyth. The hillfort displays a massively constructed cross bank and ditch which cuts off the neck of a steep sided promontory. A further bank has been constructed to the north of this, possibly demonstrating more than one phase of construction, suggesting the site was used over a considerable period of time, or re-occupied.

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 surviving internal features and archaeological deposits as well as 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.