Cefn y Castell

Cadw's description

Summary description and reason for designation

The monument comprises the remains of a hillfort, which probably dates to the Iron Age period (c.800BC – AD74), the Roman conquest of Wales). Hillforts are usually located on hilltops and surrounded by single or multiple earthworks of massive proportions. Hillforts must have formed symbols of power within the landscape, whilst their function may have had as much to do with ostentation and display, as defence.

Cefn y Castell lies on the summit of Middletown Hill, and takes the form of an elongated oval, mulitvallate enclosure with inturned entrances at the north-east and south-west ends. It encloses an area c.182m in NE-SW by c.73m. Probable outworks are visible at the north-east and south-west ends. Within the enclosure a flat-topped circular platform close to the south-western entrance, may represent the remains of a possible round barrow or cairn.

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.