Cefn Carnedd Camp

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 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. Cefn Carnedd Camp is a strongly defended multi-vallate hillfort. It has been suggested as possible site of defeat of Caractacus in AD51. At its greatest development c. 15 acres was probably defended, around the ends and NW side by triple banks and ditches. The ramparts on the SW, N and NE sides remain as scarp slopes up to 3.5m high. No defences remain on SE; they may not have been necessary here because of the steepness of the slopes, or may have been disturbed/ removed in recent times.

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.