Derwlwyn Coppice Hillfort

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 Iocated 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. Derwlwyn Coppice Hillfort is a substantial trapezoidal earthwork enclosure situated at the top of a spur and is lightly wooded. The interior is gently sloping and appears to contact scarps and terraces which could be the positions of house sites. A well-preserved ditch some 2m deep runs around the site on the south, west and east and the bank lies within, and is strongest on the east and west. On the two long sides it is slight, an enhancement of the natural slope. On the east, is a second outer bank cutting off the tip of the spur.

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.