Caer Carreg y Fran

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 small hillfort situated on a low rocky knoll overlooking the N end of the Llanberis pass, 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 or walls 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.

The sides of the hill on which Caer Carreg y Fran stands are steep, precipitous in places and the top is very irregular and broken, disturbed by later mining. The remains of a wall approximately 2.4m wide follows the edge of the hilltop. It is mostly reduced to foundation level, although on the south is a well-preserved section with the outer face 0.8m high. Elsewhere it is visible as a grass-covered stone bank 0.5m high. In many places the original wall is surmounted by a modern field wall, and at one location the outer face of the original wall has been re-built to a height of 2m. The creation of a footpath has resulted in a 1m wide gap through the foundations of the wall on the W, but the original gateway, a simple gap approximately 4.5m wide, is on the N. It was approached by a cleared trackway bounded by rough lines of stone. The RCAHM recorded six huts in the interior, ranging in diameter from 4.5m to 7.6m and built of laid masonry.

The hillfort was located in a position to control access along the Llanberis Pass. Whilst it has important views northwards in an arc from south-east to west, the most significant are to the east and south-east across and along the Llanberis Pass.

The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of prehistoric settlement and defence. It retains significant archaeological potential, with a strong probability of the presence of associated archaeological features and deposits. The structures themselves may be expected to contain archaeological information concerning chronology and building techniques.

The scheduled area comprises the remains described and areas around them within which related evidence may be expected to survive.