Pen y Gaer (or Pen-y-gaer) is the location of a

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 pri ...

and

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 ...

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 ...

near the village of

Llanbedr-y-Cennin Llanbedr-y-Cennin is a small village in Conwy county borough, Wales, in the community of Caerhun. It lies in the foothills on the western side of the Conwy valley, in Wales. The river Conwy runs through the valley, running into the sea to the ...

in the

Conwy valley , name_etymology = , image = Boats in River Conwy.jpg , image_size = 300 , image_caption = Boats in the river estuary at Conwy , map = , map_size = , map_caption = , push ...

, Wales. A natural defensive site, it had a long history of occupation, indicated by the complexity of the defences, which were amended over time. There are two Bronze Age

cairn A cairn is a man-made pile (or stack) of stones raised for a purpose, usually as a marker or as a burial mound. The word ''cairn'' comes from the gd, càrn (plural ). Cairns have been and are used for a broad variety of purposes. In prehi ...

s on the north-west slope, and extensive prehistoric and later field systemsare nearby. The remains as seen today are mostly of Iron Age origin, but further earthworks, probably of

medieval 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 a ...

origin, lie on the south-eastern slopes. The remains of the two walls of stone can be seen, as can those of a

chevaux-de-frise The ''cheval de frise'' (plural: ''chevaux de frise'' , "Frisian horses") is a defensive obstacle, which existed in a number of forms and were employed in various applications. These included underwater constructions used to prevent the passa ...

. The entrance is to the west, and access can be gained from a car park, reached by the road from the village.

External links

Royal Commission site, with photos

A BBC page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pen Y Gaer Caerhun Archaeological sites in Conwy County Borough Hillforts in Conwy County Borough Mountains and hills of Conwy County Borough Archaeological sites in Snowdonia Hillforts in Snowdonia Mountains and hills of Snowdonia Iron Age Britain

See also

External links