Moel Ddolwen 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. Moel Ddolwen Camp comprises an oval multivallate earthwork on summit of Moel Ddolwen. On the N and W sides the banks have been reduced to 2 scarps with an intervening berm. The average height of the scarp slopes is c.1.6m on northern side. At the eastern end the outer bank survives to a height of c.0.3m with a maximum width of c.10m. The S side is only defended by steep natural slopes. The enclosed area measures 114m from E-W by 50m N-S. The site is bisected by a stone boundary wall at E side. The site has been ploughed in the past and is now under pasture.

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.