Wern 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. Wern Camp occupies a small local summit running north-west to south-east, separated along its north-east side by a shallow valley from the high ground of Little Hill beyond. Steep natural slopes on its south-west lead down to flatter ground around the Clas Brook. The fort is generally oval in shape, running along the ridge, with two lines of defences visible around most of its perimeter apart from above the steep natural slope on the south-west. These defences are now largely reduced to scarps, the inner rising to c.2m and the outer to c.1.7m, and they are more widely spaced at the two ends. The inner enclosure thus defined measures c.90m by c.55m, with the site having overall dimensions of c.145m by c.70m. There are hints of a slightly inturned entrance through both lines at the south-east end.

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.