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Y Werthyr Hillfort is a Iron Age defensive enclosure situated in Wales and protected by Cadw under reference AN042. The site occupies a naturally elevated position founded on Neoproterozoic bedrock of felsic igneous composition, which has weathered to provide a firm foundation for the substantial earthworks constructed during Iron Age occupation. This geological setting would have offered the hilltop's occupants both strategic advantage and constructional stability for their fortifications.
The hillfort exemplifies the typical Iron Age settlement pattern of upland Wales, where communities established defended strongholds to command surrounding territory and protect valuable agricultural land and livestock. The felsic igneous bedrock underlying the site, formed in the Neoproterozoic period over 540 million years ago, provided a naturally resistant base resistant to erosion, allowing the Iron Age ramparts and ditches to survive into the modern landscape.
Y Werthyr Hillfort represents an important example of Iron Age settlement strategy and engineering, demonstrating how Iron Age communities selected locations where natural geology could support substantial defensive structures. The monument remains visible today as a significant archaeological and landscape feature, preserving evidence of the settlement and social organisation of Iron Age Welsh communities.
Y Werthyr Hillfort is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference AN042. View the official record →
Y Werthyr Hillfort is a Iron Age defensive enclosure situated in Wales and protected by Cadw under reference AN042.
Y Werthyr Hillfort dates from the iron age period, and is classified as a hillfort. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Y Werthyr Hillfort 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 AN042.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Bodfeddan Inscribed Stone (3.9 km), Castellor Hut Group (4.2 km), Tŷ Newydd Chambered Tomb (5.2 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Y Werthyr Hillfort'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.
Y Werthyr Hillfort stands on Unnamed Igneous Intrusion, Neoproterozoic, bedrock that formed in the Neoproterozoic. The rock here is felsic-rock.