Scheduled MonumentsWalesPen-y-Corddyn Camp
Prehistoric · Hillfort

Pen-y-Corddyn Camp

Denbighshire, Wales
Cadw SAM DE008
Period
Prehistoric
Site type
Hillfort
Broad class
Defence
Nation
Wales
Boundary

Scheduled area

© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Cadw

Overview

History & significance

Pen-y-Corddyn Camp is a prehistoric hillfort situated in Wales and protected as an ancient monument by Cadw under reference DE008. The fort occupies ground underlain by Dinantian rocks of Mississippian age, a geological sequence dominated by limestone interbedded with subordinate sandstone and argillaceous strata. This solid bedrock foundation would have presented both advantages and challenges to the fort's builders, offering natural strength but requiring considerable labour to construct defences through or upon such resistant stone.

The hillfort exemplifies the defensive settlement pattern established across Iron Age Britain, though this particular site may have origins in the Bronze Age. Its location in the Welsh uplands reflects the strategic positioning typical of such monuments, commanding views across surrounding terrain. The underlying geology of mixed limestone and sandstone, characteristic of the Dinantian sequence, would have influenced both the available building stone for ramparts and the natural topography upon which the fort's builders chose to establish their settlement.

Today Pen-y-Corddyn Camp remains an important witness to prehistoric settlement patterns in Wales, preserved within the Cadw estate as a record of Iron Age or earlier territorial organisation and communal defence. The monument's survival allows study of how prehistoric communities adapted to the local landscape and geology in constructing their fortified settlements.

Pen-y-Corddyn Camp is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference DE008. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Pen-y-Corddyn Camp?

Pen-y-Corddyn Camp is a prehistoric hillfort situated in Wales and protected as an ancient monument by Cadw under reference DE008.

What period does Pen-y-Corddyn Camp date from?

Pen-y-Corddyn 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.

Who is responsible for protecting Pen-y-Corddyn Camp?

Pen-y-Corddyn 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 DE008.

What other scheduled monuments are near Pen-y-Corddyn Camp?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Castell Cawr Hillfort (2 km), The Mount, Abergele (3.3 km), Mynydd y Gaer Camp (7.3 km).

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Everything a full report reveals about Pen-y-Corddyn Camp

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Pen-y-Corddyn Camp's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:

Overview
An interactive map of the location with every monument and battle plotted, and a plain-language history built only from what the record holds.
Monuments
The legally protected scheduled monuments around the location, each with its period, type and significance.
Battlefields
The battles and sieges fought on this ground, mapped and set on a timeline of the wider conflict.
Roman Britain
The Roman roads, forts and towns near here, and the Iron Age people who held the land before Rome arrived.
Civil War
The Civil War fighting, garrisons and recorded militaria in this area, woven into the arc of 1642 to 1651.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back hundreds of millions of years.
Local Names
What the street and field names around here actually mean, and the history buried inside them.
Historical Maps
Ordnance Survey maps from the 1800s, layered over the location as it stands today.
Literature
The books, county histories, charters and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.
Legal
The protected sites nearby and the metal-detecting, access and treasure laws that apply to this ground.
Spotlight
A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.
Target Zones
For detectorists: the most promising ground to search nearby, ranked by confidence, with what to expect.
Timeline
The whole story of the location told era by era, from prehistory to the present day.
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The ground beneath

The bedrock under Pen-y-Corddyn Camp

Pen-y-Corddyn Camp stands on Dinantian Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Mississippian. The rock here is limestone with subordinate sandstone and argillaceous rocks.