Llanvithyn Camp

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.

Llanvithyn is situated on a promontory facing east. There are steep slopes all round except on the west where there is slightly rising ground. The hillfort consists of a double row of banks and ditches across the west end of the promontory. The outer bank is 1.7m high and 23m wide, with an outer ditch 4m wide and 0.8m deep on the outside. There is then a 6m wide ditch followed by another bank 1.5m high and 14m wide, with an external (east side) height of 1.2m. The outer bank is cut off at its south end by a farm track, but then continues, very low, down a steep slope to a small stream. The inner bank does not continue down the slope on the south side. On the north side the outer and inner banks continue a short distance down the slope, curving round to the east and then petering out.

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.