Dyfed Archaeological Trust Historic Environment
Record
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Pen-y-gaer;gaer Pwntan;castell Pwntan
Primary Reference Number (PRN) : 5221 Trust : Dyfed Community : Penbryn Unitary authority : Ceredigion NGR : SN29214935 Site Type (preferred type first) : Iron Age Hillfort
Summary : Gaer Pwtan occupies the summit of a rounded hill at approximately 220m above sea level. The hilltop was subjected to extensive quarrying in the 19th century; this has destroyed much of the hillfort's interior. However, significant remains survive.
It is a bivallate, oval or circular hillfort, with widely spaced ramparts. These survive best on the south side and north side. On the south side low earthworks up to 140m long and up to 0.8m high in improved pasture mark the lines of banks and ditches. However, some care has to be exercised in this interpretation as vertical aerial photographs taken in the 1940s indicate that small-scale quarrying may have taken place here. On the north side of the fort a similar length of the defensive circuit also survives, also in improved pasture, but here the earthworks are much slighter. The defences on the western side have been destroyed by quarrying, while a watching brief during the construction of a phone mast on the east side showed that the ditch of the outer rampart survives below ground, but it is likely that the remainder of the ramparts has been destroyed in this section. The interior area of the hillfort measures approximately 120m diameter with a diameter of approximately 200m to the limits of the outer defensive circuit. There is a gap of about 20m between the inner and outer ramparts.
As noted above almost all of the interior (including that part now occupied by a farm) has been destroyed. It is likely that the entrance has also been destroyed. K Murphy 10 October 2005
Sources :
K. Murphy, R. Ramsey and M. Page , 2006 , A SURVEY OF DEFENDED ENCLOSURES IN CEREDIGION, 2006: GAZETTEER OF ORDNANCE SURVEY GRID SQUARE SN24
Bishop,SM , 1990 , Information concerning past development proposals in vicinity of site ,
DAT , 1977 , DRF ,
Fenton,J , 1860 , Archaeologia Cambrensis ,
Hogg,AHA , 1962 , Bulletin of the Board of Celtic Studies ,
Lewis,S , 1833 , Topographical Dictionary of Wales ,
Many , 1989 , Planning Application Erection of Bungalow ,
Murphy,K , 2004 , Assessment of Prehistoric Defended Enclosures 2004-5, Report No 2004-100 ,
Nash-Williams,VE , 1933 , Archaeologia Cambrensis ,
OS , 1962 , Map of S.Britain in the Iron Age ,
OS , 196? ,
RCAHM , 1976 ,
White,E , 1988 , Enquiry as to possibility of restricting proposed development in the vicinity ,
