Pen y Coed Hillfort, Cyfronydd

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. Pen y Coed is a fine bivallete enclosure, roughly circular in plan, on a gentle east facing slope. The two banks are concentric and clearly visible for their entire circuit, though the outer bank is less clear than the south. For the most part the banks stand up to 1.5m in height externally, only c 0.2m internally with the ditch between clearly visible, the external ditch visible in places.

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.