Caer Noddfa

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 an earthwork/stone-built enclosure. The date or precise nature of the enclosure is unknown, but it is likely to be later prehistoric, Roman or medieval. Caer Noddfa comprises a large, sub-rectangular enclosure situated in pasture on floodplain of R Carno bounded by very slight bank c0.5m high on W, NW and S sides, with a slight trace of a ditch on NW. The N side is occupied by a post-medieval earthen field bank which runs for c20m and which may include the original enclosure bank, measuring 4m wide and 0.2m high. The SE side is no longer traceable. In the NW of the enclosure the site of a building excavated in 1965 by Putnam is visible as a roughly rectangular hollow enclosed by a bank c8m wide, 0.3m high on SE side and 4.0m wide and 0.4m high on the NE side, interpreted as a medieval hospice. However, a small trial trench was put across the W corner of the bank in 1909 which revealed a Roman-type V-shaped ditch. There is some argument as to whether the site represents a Roman Fort or a hospice of the Knights of St John.

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.