Llanquian Wood Camp

Iron Age Hillfort

Llanquian Wood Camp (sometimes incorrectly written as Llangian Wood Hillfort) encompasses the remnants of a hillfort, likely dating back to the Iron Age era (around 800 BC to AD 74, during the Roman conquest of Wales). Hillforts were typically situated on hilltops and enclosed by massive earthworks, often serving as symbols of power in the landscape, with functions ranging from defence to ostentation and display.

This particular hillfort is located on a north-west facing slope within a lightly wooded area. It comprises a large circular enclosure with a level interior, encircled by a series of concentric banks that vary in size. On the southern end of the western side, the ground drops steeply beyond the banks. The banks are arranged from the outermost to the innermost as follows: a 1-meter high bank, a 6-meter wide berm, a 2.5-meter high bank, a 17-meter wide berm with a slight rise of 1.5 meters in the middle, and finally a 2.2-meter high bank leading up to the interior. Moving further north along the western side, the banks simplify into one large bank measuring 4 meters in height, with a flat berm approximately 17 meters wide, and then transitioning to the natural slope. At the north-west corner, there is a curving entrance that is 6 meters wide and 1.8 meters deep.

On the north side of the hillfort, there is a bank that is 2 meters in height. Beyond the bank, the ground slopes gently for a short distance before dropping precipitously. On the north-eastern side, where the ground outside the hillfort begins to rise, there is a ditch measuring 1.2 meters in depth and 3 meters in width, followed by a 1.5-meter high bank, a flat berm approximately 22 meters wide, and then a 2-meter high bank leading up to the interior. As we move around the eastern side of the hillfort, where the ground still rises outside the enclosure, there is an outer ditch measuring 1.5 meters in depth and 3 meters in width, followed by a bank that is 1 meter high on both sides, a wide berm, and an inner bank that is 1 meter in height.

On the south-eastern side of the hillfort, there is evidence of quarrying which has destroyed the outer ditch and outer bank, with another quarry just to the west of it situated between the inner and outer banks. On the south side of the hillfort, the ground begins to fall away outside the enclosure. There is a ditch measuring 0.8 meters in height and 2 meters in width, followed by an outer bank that is 2.2 meters high on the outside and 1.2 meters high on the inside. Inside this bank, there is a wide flat berm, followed by an inner bank that is 1.5 meters high on the outside and 1 meter high on the inside. There are two small causeways measuring approximately 2 meters wide across the ditches on this side, with corresponding gaps measuring 1 meter in depth in the outer bank. On the southwestern side, the ground slopes away steeply, and the outer and inner banks are closer together. The outer bank is very steep and measures 2.2 meters in height, followed by a flat berm approximately 17 meters wide, and then a 2-meter high bank leading up to the interior.

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