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Craig y Dinas Camp is a prehistoric hillfort located in Wales and protected by Cadw under reference CN057. The site occupies a naturally defensive position on bedrock of Lower Cambrian age, where sandstone and conglomerate strata are interbedded. This geological foundation, formed during the Early Cambrian period, provided both a stable platform for settlement and naturally elevated terrain suited to fortification.
The monument represents a significant example of Iron Age or Late Bronze Age hillforts characteristic of the Welsh landscape. Such sites typically served multiple purposes including settlement, refuge, and territorial control. The specific topography at Craig y Dinas Camp, enhanced by its underlying Cambrian geology, would have offered commanding views of surrounding valleys and natural advantages for defence through its elevated position alone.
Cadw's protection of the site recognises its importance as a record of prehistoric settlement patterns and land use in Wales. The combination of fortified structures, local geology, and landscape setting provides evidence of how ancient communities selected and utilised naturally defensible locations. Such hillforts remain crucial to understanding the social organisation and territorial systems of prehistoric Welsh societies.
Craig y Dinas Camp is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference CN057. View the official record →
Craig y Dinas Camp is a prehistoric hillfort located in Wales and protected by Cadw under reference CN057.
Craig y Dinas Camp dates from the prehistoric period, and is classified as a hillfort. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Craig y Dinas Camp is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Cadw — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in Wales. The official designation reference is CN057.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Burnt Mound East of Pen-y-Gaer (6.8 km), Pen y Gaer Camp (6.8 km), Hut Group & Field System North West of Tyddyn Mawr (previously known as Hut Group NW of Tyddyn Mawr) (7.2 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Craig y Dinas Camp's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Craig y Dinas Camp stands on Lower Cambrian Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Early Cambrian. The rock here is sandstone and conglomerate, interbedded.