Dolgwden Enclosure

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. Dolgwden is a small circular enclosure on a gently sloping site with a single bank, which is visible for the entire circuit but is best preserved on the north where it adjoins a hedge/fence line and where its external height is 1.2m, internal height 1m-80cm. A small section of defences is used by the hedge bank and here the external height is 2m, with the well preserved ditch 1.5m below the external field surface. The ditch here is rock cut and elsewhere is discernible as a scoop on the east and a scarp on the west. The interior is raised, probably due to terracing of the site.

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.