Featured: How and why the ancients enchanted Great Britain and Brittany

How and why the ancients enchanted Great Britain and Brittany

Random Image


Chun Quoit

Roads and Trackways of North Wales

Roads and Trackways of North Wales

Who's Online

There are currently, 480 guests and 4 members online.

You are a guest. To join in, please register for free by clicking here

Sponsors

<< Our Photo Pages >> Pen Dinas (Aberystwyth) - Hillfort in Wales in Ceredigion

Submitted by vicky on Friday, 12 May 2017  Page Views: 26973

Iron Age and Later PrehistorySite Name: Pen Dinas (Aberystwyth) Alternative Name: Dinas Maelor, Maelor's Fort
Country: Wales County: Ceredigion Type: Hillfort
Nearest Town: Aberystwyth
Map Ref: SN5842080211  Landranger Map Number: 135
Latitude: 52.401543N  Longitude: 4.082481W
Condition:
5Perfect
4Almost Perfect
3Reasonable but with some damage
2Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site
1Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks
0No data.
-1Completely destroyed
3 Ambience:
5Superb
4Good
3Ordinary
2Not Good
1Awful
0No data.
4 Access:
5Can be driven to, probably with disabled access
4Short walk on a footpath
3Requiring a bit more of a walk
2A long walk
1In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find
0No data.
3 Accuracy:
5co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates
4co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map
3co-ordinates scaled from a bad map
2co-ordinates of the nearest village
1co-ordinates of the nearest town
0no data
4

Internal Links:
External Links:

I have visited· I would like to visit

w650marion visited on 29th Sep 2023 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 4 Access: 3 Parked in the free car park at the end of Pen-yr-Angor road and walked up signposted footpaths. There was a large otter on the footpath near the river when we got back - what a treat!

Hayden visited on 26th Dec 2021 - their rating: Cond: 2 Amb: 3 Access: 4

AngieLake have visited here

Average ratings for this site from all visit loggers: Condition: 2.5 Ambience: 3.5 Access: 3.5

Pen Dinas (Aberystwyth)
Pen Dinas (Aberystwyth) submitted by vicky : The back slopes of Pen Dinas hillfort overlooking the town of Aberystwyth. (Vote or comment on this photo)
A hill south of Aberystwyth on the coast of Ceredigion, Wales, upon which an extensive Iron Age hill fort is situated. Tradition refers to it as being the fort of the giant Maelor Gawr.

Pen Dinas strictly speaking only refers to the highest point, 'Pen y Dinas' or 'Head of the Citadel', (upon which the Wellington Monument now stands). The southern summit is also where, in the Bronze Age, a burial mound was erected.

The hill fort actually consists of two separate forts built many years apart, which were later combined to form a larger structure. The first fort to be constructed was on the lower northern summit. It consists of an outer ditch and inner rampart of rubble. It would originally have been surmounted by a wooden palisade. The main gateway is on the western side and is formed by a stone lined gap in the ditch and bank.

After this first fort was eventually abandoned several decades passed before work began on a new fortification on the higher summit to the south. This second site is better protected by a steeper slope on the western side. To the south and east huge terraced earth works were built faced with shale which would again have been topped with a wooden palisade. Entrance into the southern fort is via gateways to the north and south. They are both formed of narrow passageways through the earthworks and would also have had timber bridges to cross the ditches. The northern gateway is kinked to the left, probably to aid defence by slowing down attackers.

More at Wikipedia

Note: Suspected Bronze Age burial mound found during community project - see the latest comment on our page. Volunteers are sought for ongoing work
You may be viewing yesterday's version of this page. To see the most up to date information please register for a free account.


Pen Dinas (Aberystwyth)
Pen Dinas (Aberystwyth) submitted by AngieLake : An aerial view of Pen Dinas, from a photo included in a local history display that accompanies the Celtic Stones at Llanbadarn Fawr church. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Pen Dinas (Aberystwyth)
Pen Dinas (Aberystwyth) submitted by w650marion : Heading north leaving the upper fort, there is a break in the ramparts where a stone-walled isthmus gate stood as high as a two-storey building and was crossed by a wooden bridge supported on four massive timber posts to link the two parts of the fort. Today heavy vegetation covered everything. See Coflein for more information and photos of previous excavations - coflein.gov.uk/en/site/92236/ima... (Vote or comment on this photo)

Pen Dinas (Aberystwyth)
Pen Dinas (Aberystwyth) submitted by w650marion : Looking down from the higher south part of the fort onto the earlier first northern phase, which had started as a large enclosure. Eventually both parts were linked with defensive walls and a new gate across the central isthmus. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Pen Dinas (Aberystwyth)
Pen Dinas (Aberystwyth) submitted by w650marion : Footpath along the edge of the south, upper section of Pen Dinas. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Pen Dinas (Aberystwyth)
Pen Dinas (Aberystwyth) submitted by w650marion : Footpath was a bit steep in places going to the top!

Do not use the above information on other web sites or publications without permission of the contributor.
Click here to see more info for this site

Nearby sites

Click here to view sites on an interactive OS map

Key: Red: member's photo, Blue: 3rd party photo, Yellow: other image, Green: no photo - please go there and take one, Grey: site destroyed

Download sites to:
KML (Google Earth)
GPX (GPS waypoints)
CSV (Garmin/Navman)
CSV (Excel)

To unlock full downloads you need to sign up as a Contributory Member. Otherwise downloads are limited to 50 sites.


Turn off the page maps and other distractions

Nearby sites listing. In the following links * = Image available
 1.2km S 174° Castell Tan Y Bwlch Castle* Promontory Fort / Cliff Castle (SN5851079000)
 1.4km NNW 339° Aberystwyth Gorsedd Circle* Modern Stone Circle etc (SN5794681533)
 1.5km NE 44° Ffynnon Badarn* Holy Well or Sacred Spring (SN5951181263)
 1.6km N 354° Ceredigion Museum* Museum (SN583818)
 1.7km ENE 60° Llanbadarn Fawr Celtic Crosses* Ancient Cross (SN59918101)
 1.7km ENE 64° Y Garreg Fawr* Chambered Tomb (SN59998093)
 3.3km ESE 111° Old Warren Hill Hillfort (SN615789)
 5.2km NE 46° Gorgerddan Round Barrow(s) (SN62328373)
 5.3km NE 50° Plas Gogerddan* Stone Row / Alignment (SN626835)
 5.3km SSE 148° Castell Pantmawr Hillfort (SN611756)
 5.3km NE 51° Plas Gogerddan Barrow* Round Barrow(s) (SN62658348)
 5.4km NE 46° Gorgerddan Enclosure Ancient Village or Settlement (SN62418387)
 5.6km NE 41° Bow Street* Ancient Village or Settlement (SN6223584325)
 6.4km NE 48° Hen Gaer Hillfort (SN633844)
 6.6km N 7° Cerig Y Gath Burial Chamber or Dolmen (SN59378678)
 6.7km NNE 30° Ruel Uchaf Ancient Village or Settlement (SN620859)
 7.0km NE 55° Penrhyncoch War Memorial Standing Stone (Menhir) (SN6422984058)
 7.2km SE 139° Pen-Y-Castell Enclosure Ancient Village or Settlement (SN62997468)
 7.3km SSW 203° Pen Glog* Cairn (SN554736)
 7.3km SE 140° Llanilar Hillfort (SN62997454)
 7.6km NE 49° Cwrt Enclosure Ancient Village or Settlement (SN64348503)
 7.7km NNE 29° St Michael's Church Well Holy Well or Sacred Spring (SN62328687)
 7.7km ENE 58° Bryntirion Well* Holy Well or Sacred Spring (SN65158407)
 9.8km S 171° The Dominicus Stone Early Christian Sculptured Stone (SN597705)
 9.8km ENE 72° Darren Camp Cairn I Cairn (SN6789382997)
View more nearby sites and additional images

<< Ivriz Relief

Giant's hill cairn >>

Please add your thoughts on this site

Lines on the Landscape, Circles from the Sky: Monuments of Neolithic Orkney

Lines on the Landscape, Circles from the Sky: Monuments of Neolithic Orkney

Sponsors

Auto-Translation (Google)

Translate from English into:

"Pen Dinas (Aberystwyth)" | Login/Create an Account | 10 News and Comments
  
Go back to top of page    Comments are owned by the poster. We aren't responsible for their content.
Re: Pen Dinas on Great British Railway Journeys by AngieLake on Wednesday, 26 January 2022
(User Info | Send a Message)
Michael Portillo visits Pen Dinas in the programme on BBC4 tonight, 7pm, 26th January 2022. It features an early excavation in the 1930s.
[ Reply to This ]

Re: Pen Dinas by Maelor on Friday, 29 June 2018
(User Info | Send a Message)
Here's some more links and information about the Pen Dinas site (Penparcau, nr Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, Wales)

Interactive 3D model
Interactive 3D model on Sketchfab


Royal Commission for the Ancient Historical Monuments of Wales

Lots of information


3D model, based on lidar with a map overlay 1817



3D animation



Some shots of Pen Dinas on this video too. Ceredigion must be the UK's best kept secret


Different lidar visualisations (use the arrow keys)

Lidar visualisations


[ Reply to This ]

Re: Pen Dinas by Andy B on Sunday, 07 January 2018
(User Info | Send a Message)
Maelor writes: I thought that this was worth sharing, a nice animation of Pen Dinas - Year of Legends
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XSDMAjCH30



Maelor Gawr is an early Celtic king and giant of Welsh folklore, who lived in Castell Maelor, Pen Dinas also known as (Dinas Maelor) in Penparcau, a village near Aberystwyth before "the coming of Brutus to this island". The tale of Maelor and his three sons, Cornippyn, Crygyn and Bwba, is recorded in the late sixteenth century Welsh text "Olion Cewri Cymru..." ("The Giants of Wales and their dwellings") by Sion Dafydd Rhys (with the antiquarian spelling Maylor Gawr).

It came to pass that Maelor was captured in the cwmwd of Cyfeiliog, about twelve miles from his own castle and was sentenced to death. His enemies allowed him his final request to blow on his horn three times before his death. The first time he blew, his hair and beard fell out, and on the second blast of his horn, so great was the strength and force of the sounding that all his finger and toe-nails fell off completely. On the third blast of his horn the intensity of the force of the sound caused the horn to be broken into small pieces. Cornippyn, who was hunting with his horse and his hound, heard the sound of his father's horn and lamented over his suffering.

He made to rescue his father and in riding with such haste and swiftness, he tore the head of his hound off its body. He spurred his horse onwards, leaped in one great bound over the Ystwyth river and attacked his father's captors. In the ensuing battle, Cornippin was slain. The other sons, Crygyn and Bwba, lived in Llanilar and Llanbadarn Fawr respectively, and murdered any man who approached their stronghold. They were both killed themselves through cunning, by an unnamed warrior in the same night.
All design: Robert Gapper - Twitter Contact - @RLGapper
Drone Footage: Bryn Raw-Rees Music: Danny Elfman
[ Reply to This ]

Penparcau group unearths Bronze Age find at Pen Dinas hillfort by Andy B on Friday, 12 May 2017
(User Info | Send a Message)
A suspected Bronze Age burial mound has been found in Ceredigion during a community project. A geophysical survey has revealed new finds under the Iron Age hillfort, Pen Dinas, at Penparcau, near Aberystwyth. A number of suspected hut circles - dwellings typical of the Iron Age - have also been identified.

Dr Alan Chamberlain said the presence of the mound means the hill "must have been a place of special importance long before the hillfort was constructed". The survey was part of a community-led heritage and environment project run by Penparcau Community Forum with support from archaeological specialists.

Trustee Dr Chamberlain, a local resident, said: "It's really exciting and nationally significant. It's especially important because the local community has made this happen."

The project is seeking more volunteers.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-mid-wales-39847917
[ Reply to This ]
    Pen Dinas Hill Fort – Bronze Age Burial Found by Andy B on Friday, 12 May 2017
    (User Info | Send a Message)
    An event was held on Saturday 29 April 2017 in Penparcau to celebrate new and exciting findings about Pen Dinas Hill Fort. ​The two-day ‘never been done before’ geophysical survey took place on 5 and 6 April this year, by a team of archaeologists from Archaeology Wales, Trysor and a number of local people from the Penparcau Community Forum.

    The survey shows that much more archaeology survives within the hillfort than can be seen on the surface, increasing the archaeological potential of the site. A number of probable hut circles, the sites of round buildings typical of the Iron Age, have been identified as well as evidence of small ‘quarry scoops’ along the eastern side of the fort.

    Undoubtedly the most significant discovery, is the confirmation that a low mound on the hilltop is a Bronze Age round barrow. This is a grave site, where the cremated remains of an important figure would have been buried over 3500 years ago.

    “This is the first Bronze Age monument to be recorded in Penparcau and Aberystwyth,” explains Dr Alan Chamberlain who is a local resident and trustee of the Penparcau Community Forum. “Its discovery changes the way we look at Pen Dinas and its hinterland. Its presence means that the hill must have been a place of special importance long before the hillfort was constructed.”

    He adds: “The Bronze Age inhabitants of the district would have been a sophisticated and well-organised community, farming the land around the hill. Speculation surrounds the location of their settlements, but they must have looked up at Pen Dinas with a similar sense of wonder as modern people would.”

    “To them it was a place to bury someone of importance, perhaps a sacred landscape, from where an ancestor could watch over them. We can only wonder if the Iron Age inhabitants of the hillfort were aware of this ancient grave when they built their fortified settlement.”

    “These findings are re-writing history for Penparcau, Aberystwyth and Wales. It’s really exciting and nationally significant! It’s especially important, because the local community has made this happen - how amazing to think that Penparcau has its own ‘Time Team.”

    John Davies, Chair of the Cynnal y Cardi Local Action Group (LAG), which is administered by Ceredigion County Council said: “The project aims to continue the good work already completed by all those involved, and add value to local identity by using digital technologies. We hope this will attract more visitors to the site for tourism and education and enhancing a sense of place.”

    The survey is part of an innovative ‘grass roots’ community led bilingual heritage and environment project called ‘Pen Dinas Hill Fort: Exploring the Celtic Coast’, which was developed by Penparcau Community Forum History and Heritage Group.

    The project received LEADER support through the Cynnal y Cardi Local Action Group (LAG), and funding through the Welsh Government Rural Communities - Rural Development Programme 2014-2020, which is funded by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and the Welsh Government. The project is also supported by the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales (RCAHMW).

    The project is looking for more volunteers from the local area, so if you would like to get involved in this exciting project please contact: contact@Penparcau.cymru

    http://www.ceredigion.gov.uk/English/Resident/News/Pages/Pen-Dinas-Hill-Fort-%E2%80%93-Bronze-Age-Burial-Found.aspx
    [ Reply to This ]

New Short Animations of Pen Dinas, Iron Age Hill Fort by Andy B on Saturday, 23 April 2016
(User Info | Send a Message)
Maelor writes: I've just seen these and thought that I'd share. They are of Pen Dinas, Iron Age hill fort near Aberystwyth.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC142kbTVDjFlVKsd0nx0yGQ
[ Reply to This ]

Guided Walk Of Pen Dinas, Iron Age Stronghold on Cardigan Bay, 13th July by Andy B on Wednesday, 03 July 2013
(User Info | Send a Message)
Pen Dinas: An Iron Age Stronghold on Cardigan Bay
Guided walk led by Royal Commission archaeologist and aerial photographer, Dr Toby Driver. Saturday 13 July 2013, 2pm-4pm

Step back over 2,000 years to discover the prehistoric origins of Aberystwyth with a guided walk up the largest Iron Age hillfort on Cardigan Bay. Discover the homes of the Celts, and the prehistoric engineering behind gateways and ramparts on this commanding coastal hill.

Meet at Neuadd Goffa car park, Penparcau, Aberystwyth, SY23 1RZ.The walk is reasonably strenuous so good footwear and outdoor clothing is required.

The event is free and everyone is welcome!

For further details contact the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales
http://www.rcahmw.gov.uk/HI/ENG/About+Us/Press+and+News/Events+Diary/?event=136

Part of the Festival of British Archaeology 2013. Check back over the coming weeks as we highlight more of the best prehistory related events
[ Reply to This ]

Re: Pen Dinas by coldrum on Saturday, 24 April 2010
(User Info | Send a Message)
Street View


View Larger Map
[ Reply to This ]

Re: Pen Dinas by Anonymous on Wednesday, 10 August 2005
It may be of value to add that tradition tells us that Pen Dinas can be seen from every hill-fort along the Rheidol Valley, thus suggesting that Pen Dinas was the prime centre for many smaller groups of people. (But we all know how misleading old Trad's words can be!)
"Llowarch"
[ Reply to This ]

Your Name: Anonymous [ Register Now ]
Subject:


Add your comment or contribution to this page. Spam or offensive posts are deleted immediately, don't even bother

<<< What is five plus one as a number? (Please type the answer to this question in the little box on the left)
You can also embed videos and other things. For Youtube please copy and paste the 'embed code'.
For Google Street View please include Street View in the text.
Create a web link like this: <a href="https://www.megalithic.co.uk">This is a link</a>  

Allowed HTML is:
<p> <b> <i> <a> <img> <em> <br> <strong> <blockquote> <tt> <li> <ol> <ul> <object> <param> <embed> <iframe>

We would like to know more about this location. Please feel free to add a brief description and any relevant information in your own language.
Wir möchten mehr über diese Stätte erfahren. Bitte zögern Sie nicht, eine kurze Beschreibung und relevante Informationen in Deutsch hinzuzufügen.
Nous aimerions en savoir encore un peu sur les lieux. S'il vous plaît n'hesitez pas à ajouter une courte description et tous les renseignements pertinents dans votre propre langue.
Quisieramos informarnos un poco más de las lugares. No dude en añadir una breve descripción y otros datos relevantes en su propio idioma.