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Pen Dinas Camp is a prehistoric hillfort situated in Wales and protected as a scheduled ancient monument by Cadw under reference CD007. The fort occupies a commanding hilltop position where the underlying bedrock comprises interbedded sandstone and conglomerate of the Llandovery formation, creating a naturally elevated and defensible site. This geological foundation would have provided the hillfort's builders with a stable platform for their earthwork defences, whilst the high ground afforded extensive views across the surrounding landscape for both surveillance and signalling purposes.
Hillforts of this type typically date to the Iron Age, though some may have had earlier origins in the Bronze Age. They served as defended settlement centres and places of refuge during times of conflict or uncertainty. The rocky substrate of Pen Dinas would have influenced construction methods, with builders exploiting natural outcrops and working stone into defensive structures where possible. The specific layout and dimensions of the fort's ramparts and ditches would have reflected both the landscape's natural contours and the strategic intentions of its builders.
Today, Pen Dinas Camp survives as an important archaeological monument preserving evidence of later prehistoric settlement and social organisation in Wales. Its scheduled status ensures protection of the earthworks and any subsurface deposits that remain undisturbed, allowing the site to contribute to our understanding of Iron Age life and landscape use in this region.
Pen Dinas Camp is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference CD007. View the official record →
Pen Dinas Camp is a prehistoric hillfort situated in Wales and protected as a scheduled ancient monument by Cadw under reference CD007.
Pen 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.
Pen 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 CD007.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Aberystwyth Harbour Defences (0.5 km), Aberystwyth Castle (1.2 km), Castle Tan-y-Castell (1.5 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Pen 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.
Pen Dinas Camp stands on Llandovery Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Llandovery. The rock here is sandstone and conglomerate, interbedded.