Caer Seion - An Iron Age Fort on Conwy Mountain - geograph

Mynydd y Dref (

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

: ''"Mountain of the Town"'') or Conwy Mountain is a hilly area to the west of the town of Conwy, in

North Wales , area_land_km2 = 6,172 , postal_code_type = Postcode , postal_code = LL, CH, SY , image_map1 = Wales North Wales locator map.svg , map_caption1 = Six principal areas of Wales common ...

. To the north it overlooks the sea of

Conwy Bay Conwy Bay ( Welsh ''Bae Conwy''), also known as Conway Bay, is an inlet of the Irish Sea. It is situated at the southeastern point of the coast of Anglesey at Bangor on the northern central coast of Wales, stretching from Puffin Island to Gre ...

, and to the south lie the foothills of the Carneddau range of mountains, of which it forms a part. Mynydd y Dref is the remains of an ancient

volcano A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates are ...

that erupted about 450 million years ago. At the summit of Conwy Mountain are the

Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...

Hut Circles and 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 mostly appl ...

hillfort of Castell Caer Seion (sometimes called Castell Caer Lleion). Castell Caer Seion comprised a stone walled fort, and remains show this to have been an extensive site, incorporated more than 50 hut circles and levelled platform houses, and with a citadel and outposts. Limited excavations were undertaken in 1951. No datable remains were found, only slingstones, querns and stone pestles and mortars, which suggests that, unlike many hillforts in north Wales, this site was not reoccupied in the late Roman period. Millstones were quarried on Conwy Mountain during the

Napoleonic wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

. Tracks and footpaths cross Conwy Mountain, and many walks, which can be accessed from

Sychnant Pass Sychnant Pass (Welsh: ''Bwlch Sychnant'', "Dry-stream Pass") in Conwy County Borough, Wales, links Conwy to Penmaenmawr via Dwygyfylchi. Much of the pass is in Snowdonia National Park, and a large area of land within it has been designated a S ...

at its western end. The route along Conwy Mountain comprises a section of the North Wales Path, a way-marked long-distance walk of some 60 miles which runs close to the

North Wales , area_land_km2 = 6,172 , postal_code_type = Postcode , postal_code = LL, CH, SY , image_map1 = Wales North Wales locator map.svg , map_caption1 = Six principal areas of Wales common ...

coast between

Prestatyn Prestatyn is a seaside town and community in Denbighshire, Wales. Historically a part of Flintshire, it is located on the Irish Sea coast, to the east of Rhyl. Prestatyn has a population of 19,085, History Prehistory There is evidence that the ...

in the east and Bangor in the west.

References

{{Conwy Valley Mountains and hills of Conwy County Borough Volcanoes of Wales Ordovician volcanoes Conwy Mountains and hills of Snowdonia

See also

References