Llwyn Bryn-Dinas Camp

Cadw's description

Summary description and reason for designation

The following provides a general description of the Scheduled Ancient Monument.

Llwyn Bryn-Dinas Camp comprises the remains of a hillfort, which dates to the later Bronze Age (c.1100-800 BC) and the Iron Age period (c.800 BC to AD 74, the Roman conquest of Wales). It occupies a prominent hilltop on the northern side of the Tanat Valley. A single rampart, up to 2m in height, rings the hilltop, with traces of an external ditch around part of the circuit. A single entrance lies in the east, at the head of a deep, natural gully. The interior, which measures c.3.2 ha, is fragmented into small terraces by linear outcrops of natural bedrock. A small natural pond lies within a central hollow of the interior. Small-scale excavations in 1983 indicated that the hillfort was defended by an impressive stone-faced rampart constructed in the later Bronze Age, with evidence of Iron Age bronze and iron-working in the form of a hearth and fragments of crucibles.

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 in 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 the areas around them within which related evidence may be expected to survive.