© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Cadw
Dinas Camp is a prehistoric hillfort located in Wales and protected as a scheduled monument by Cadw under reference MG020. The site occupies a commanding hilltop position above bedrock composed of Ashgill rocks—a sequence of mudstone, siltstone and sandstone deposited during the Ashgill period of the Ordovician era, which has weathered to create the underlying geology that would have determined the fort's construction and drainage characteristics.
The hillfort belongs to the Iron Age tradition of upland fortification that became widespread across Britain during the first millennium BCE, though some Welsh hillforts show evidence of earlier prehistoric occupation. Such sites typically served multiple functions as defended settlements, territorial markers and centres of power, their strategic positions allowing both defensive advantage and control of surrounding land and communication routes.
The Ashgill bedrock beneath Dinas Camp would have presented particular challenges and opportunities to its builders: the mixed lithologies provided variable stone for construction and the natural drainage properties of the strata influenced the placement of internal features. The monument remains an important archaeological resource for understanding Iron Age settlement patterns and defensive strategies in the Welsh uplands.
Dinas Camp is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference MG020. View the official record →
Dinas Camp is a prehistoric hillfort located in Wales and protected as a scheduled monument by Cadw under reference MG020.
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.
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 MG020.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Pen-y-Gaer Camp (2.4 km), Pen y Clun Camp (2.6 km), Bryn-tail Leadworks (2.8 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of 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.
Dinas Camp stands on Ashgill Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Ashgill. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.