Mynydd Carningli is a mountain in the

Preseli Hills The Preseli Hills or, as they are known locally and historically, Preseli Mountains, ( Welsh: ''Mynyddoedd y Preseli / Y Preselau'' , ) is a range of hills in western Wales, mostly within the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park. The range stre ...

near the town of

Newport, Pembrokeshire Newport ( cy, Trefdraeth, meaning: "town by the beach") is a town, parish, community, electoral ward and ancient port of ''Parrog'', on the Pembrokeshire coast in West Wales at the mouth of the River Nevern ( cy, Afon Nyfer) in the Pembrokesh ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

. It has both prehistoric and historic remains.

Topography

Carningli (or Carn Ingli) is high. Close to the coast, it dominates the surrounding countryside. It is easy to climb but has a rocky summit and a steep

scree Scree is a collection of broken rock fragments at the base of a cliff or other steep rocky mass that has accumulated through periodic rockfall. Landforms associated with these materials are often called talus deposits. Talus deposits typically ...

slope on its southern and eastern flanks. It is a biological SSSI.

Carningli Hillfort

The summit features a large and prominent archeological site; one of the largest

hillfort A hillfort is a type of earthwork used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze Age or Iron Age. Some were used in the post-Roma ...

s in west Wales. This hillfort, generally dated to the

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostl ...

and assumed to be from the first millennium BC. It covers an area of about 4 ha, and is about 400 m x 150 m in extent. The lower slopes of Carningli are covered with traces of

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second prin ...

settlement (Pearson 2001) and so some features of the hillfort may be even older. Although not one of the largest fortified sites in Wales, it is certainly one of the most complex, incorporating a series of substantial stone embankments, natural rock cliffs and scree slopes which may have been used as natural defences. Inside and outside the embankments are terraced enclosures,

hut circle In archaeology, a hut circle is a circular or oval depression in the ground which may or may not have a low stone wall around it that used to be the foundation of a round house. The superstructure of such a house would have been made of timber an ...

s and rectangles. Approximately 25 hut circles are at the north east end of the site. On the other side are three enclosures separated by embankments. Beneath the scree slope on the eastern flank of the mountain are two further massive defensive embankments. The only plan is that of Hogg 1973 - it has been modified by Figgis, and again in recent research by Brian John. According to Hogg, there are signs that some of the defensive embankments and walls had been intentionally demolished, which he attributed as "evidence for systematic destruction by Roman invaders in the aftermath of the conquest of Wales". The

Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales (RCAHMW; cy, Comisiwn Brenhinol Henebion Cymru; ), established in 1908, is a Welsh Government sponsored body concerned with some aspects of the archaeological, architectur ...

noted in 2009 that "Such a dramatic interpretation, placing the Roman legions on the slopes of Carn-ingli in an attack on its inhabitants, might be questioned today". There are records of intermittent occupation of the site in the Age of the Saints, and as recently as the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

. No comprehensive excavations of the hillfort have been made. As with other upland defended sites, the economy of the tribe which inhabited Carningli was probably a pastoral one. The site is very exposed, and it is quite possible that it was only seasonally inhabited. The site is referred to in the Cadw Guide to Ancient and Historic Wales (1992) by Sian Rees, and in NP Figgis's "Prehistoric Preseli" (2001). Carningli hillfort

Sacred association

According to

legend A legend is a genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived, both by teller and listeners, to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human values, and possess ...

Saint

Brynach Saint Brynach was a 6th-century Welsh saint. He is traditionally associated with Pembrokeshire, where several churches are dedicated to him. Life A 12th-century account of Brynach's life states that sometime in the early 6th century, Brynach tr ...

(a local saint) used to climb to the summit to find serenity, to pray and to "commune with the angels" in the 5th century. In some old texts and maps the mountain is called Carn Yengly or Carnengli, which are probably corruptions of Carn Engylau. Strictly, this would be translated as "the rocky summit of the angels." However, this derivation of the name is not universally agreed.B G Charles, ''The Place-names of Pembrokeshire'', NLW, 1992, , page 163

In literature

Brian John's " Angel Mountain Saga" of eight volumes, recounts the life of Mistress Martha Morgan of Plas Ingli. These books were published between 2001 and 2012. The mountain is the heroine's personal sanctuary.

Industry

There was once a little "mountain railway" on Carningli, carrying broken stone from a small quarry down to a crushing plant on the Cilgwyn Road. Some railway sleepers can still be found in the turf, but otherwise the only traces remaining are the two stone pillars that supported a cable drum — a cable was used to control the descent of the loaded wagons as they rolled downhill, and then to pull the empty ones back up again. This little industry was abandoned before 1930.

References

External links

Geograph: Photographs of Mynydd Carningli and surrounding area
* Carningli photo galler

* Carningli slide sho

* Carningli guid

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