Merlins Hill Hillfort

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. 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. Merlins Hill hillfort is a triangular hilltop enclosure with an entrance on the south-west and another on the north-east. The interior is sloping. The main rampart and ditch is well preserved on the north side, but less impressive on the steeper south side where they form a break in the slope. There is also the faint line of an inner bank enclosing a smaller area, incorporating a scarp on the north, but forming a faintly traceable break in slope on the other sides. The entrance on the north-east is especially interesting and well preserved.

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.