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<< Our Photo Pages >> Foel Drygarn Fort - Hillfort in Wales in Pembrokeshire

Submitted by vicky on Sunday, 19 November 2017  Page Views: 27257

Iron Age and Later PrehistorySite Name: Foel Drygarn Fort
Country: Wales County: Pembrokeshire Type: Hillfort
Nearest Town: Cardigan  Nearest Village: Crymych
Map Ref: SN158336  Landranger Map Number: 145
Latitude: 51.970267N  Longitude: 4.682944W
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

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Couplands visited on 17th Oct 2023 - their rating: Cond: 2 Amb: 5 Access: 2

Foel Drygarn Fort
Foel Drygarn Fort submitted by Iain_P : One more composite image taken from a height of around 120m Here's a link to the whole video, filmed near sunset on Sunday (18th June) https://vimeo.com/222373142 (Vote or comment on this photo)
This Late Bronze Age / Early Iron Age hillfort stands at the end of the Preseli range and is capped by three cairns which can be seen for miles around. Aerial photographs have revealed numerous hut circles on the summit.

It can be accessed via a footpath from the Crymych to Mynachlogddu road, where there is a lay-by for parking. The walk is quite steep towards the summit but our three year old duaghter managed to make it all the way up unassisted.

Once on top, there are fantastic views in all directions. Three cairns crown the summit. Upon first glance they appear to be heaps of random stones, but a close inspection of the interiors reveals carefully constructed mounds, each with a number of circular depressions (very good to for sheltering from the wind!). All in all the hillfort is spectacular and well worth the visit.
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Foel Drygarn Fort
Foel Drygarn Fort submitted by Iain_P : Here's a composite of over 50 images taken from a drone video. You can clearly see the circular depressions of the hundreds of Iron Age houses (Vote or comment on this photo)

Foel Drygarn Fort
Foel Drygarn Fort submitted by robc : Located at the east of Preseli Mountain this hill has a hill fort dating from about 1000BC. Its name translates as "The hill of the three cairns" and it has three bronze age cairns on it. The cairns stand upto a massize 3m in height. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Foel Drygarn Fort
Foel Drygarn Fort submitted by Horatio : Well, this is my 'go to place' and knew I'd grab this shot very quickly after purchasing a drone, I just had to wait for the ideal conditions to really show off that pock-marked interior that are levelled house platforms where houses once stood, in total there are 227 with a further 42 'uncertain' that would bring the total to an amazing 269 house sites, obviously not all inhabited at the same tim... (Vote or comment on this photo)

Foel Drygarn Fort
Foel Drygarn Fort submitted by Horatio : Foel Drygarn (hill of the three cairns) One of my earlier photos of this stunning place... Situated on a stark, bare hill in the Preseli Mountains is Foel Drygarn Hillfort, the largest hill fort in Pembrokeshire. It has two rings of stonework crowning its top, and two great banks to discourage intruders. Inside are 220 hut circles, in which lived a large Celtic population from about 300 BC. Sit... (Vote or comment on this photo)

Foel Drygarn Fort
Foel Drygarn Fort submitted by Couplands : Looking west. Inner and outer walls visible, but much clearer in person.

Foel Drygarn Fort
Foel Drygarn Fort submitted by Couplands : Viewed from SE

Foel Drygarn Fort
Foel Drygarn Fort submitted by Horatio : Looking east, showing those house platforms in relief by the use of the shadows. The three large bronze age burial cairns by which this hill gets it's name catching the low sun. This is the remains of a complex and long-lasting prehistoric village, with all its phases of occupation on show and even that of its previous inhabitants (or users) of this hill, as a communal funerary site.

Foel Drygarn Fort
Foel Drygarn Fort submitted by Horatio : Looking north showing the oval shape of the defensive stone walls, the outer wall being a possibly later expansion. This view shows the natural outcrops incorporated in the defensive outline. The main gates are on the south, east and west of the walls, all this incorporating 1.2hectares.

Foel Drygarn Fort
Foel Drygarn Fort submitted by Horatio : The view west along the Peseli ridge with its scattered monuments. The top of the secondary defensive wall of the fort can be seen on the right, just poking above the green grass. Natural outcrops on the south of this hill where utilised into the construction of the defensive perimeter.

Foel Drygarn Fort
Foel Drygarn Fort submitted by Postman : Zoomed to the max from Bedd Arthur

Foel Drygarn Fort
Foel Drygarn Fort submitted by Horatio : Foel Drygarn This is one of my earlier photos of this stunning and atmospheric place. I really enjoy it up here and come here often. Out of all the limited sites I''ve visited so far, this place makes me really feel connected with the past inhabitants of this site, especially at times like when this photo was taken. Easy to access from the road and well worth the visit. Image copyright: Weal...

Foel Drygarn Fort
Foel Drygarn Fort submitted by Iain_P : Another composite image of the site, taken from video filmed at a height of around 120m

Foel Drygarn Fort
Foel Drygarn Fort submitted by Postman : Actual pictures of the fort, these.

Foel Drygarn Fort
Foel Drygarn Fort submitted by Postman : April 2012

Foel Drygarn Fort
Foel Drygarn Fort submitted by Postman : Cairns are the cherries on top

Foel Drygarn Fort
Foel Drygarn Fort submitted by Postman : Extensive views.

Foel Drygarn Fort
Foel Drygarn Fort submitted by Postman : The entrance

Foel Drygarn Fort
Foel Drygarn Fort submitted by Postman : Shit! Polar bears, run for it. (1 comment)

Foel Drygarn Fort
Foel Drygarn Fort submitted by Postman : Not a bad hill fort, but with the three big cairns this is a tremendous site.

Foel Drygarn Fort
Foel Drygarn Fort submitted by Postman : The wotsit (1 comment)

Foel Drygarn Fort
Foel Drygarn Fort submitted by Postman : Zoom

Foel Drygarn Fort
Foel Drygarn Fort submitted by rogerkread : The ramparts of the fort are not easy to photograph. This odd remnant of walling lies just to the east of the line of cairns and slightly downhill, within the ramparts. Is it part of the internal structure of the fort? Doesn't seem likely to be a mediaeval sheepfold or similar.

Foel Drygarn Fort
Foel Drygarn Fort submitted by vicky : View from the summit of Foel Drygarn hillfort. (1 comment)

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Nearby sites listing. In the following links * = Image available
 1m W 270° Foel Drygarn Track Ancient Trackway (SN158336)
 32m WSW 249° Foel Drygarn Cairns* Cairn (SN15773359)
 608m SSE 168° Carn Gaseg Ring Cairn (SN159330)
 761m SSW 201° Carn Ferched Standing Stones* Standing Stones (SN155329)
 780m SW 218° Carn Ferched Cairn* Round Cairn (SN153330)
 804m ESE 118° Croesmihangel Barrow* Round Barrow(s) (SN165332)
 1.0km ESE 105° Croesmihangel Ancient Village or Settlement (SN168333)
 1.1km SE 132° Mountain Burial Chamber* Burial Chamber or Dolmen (SN16573285)
 1.2km WNW 298° Modern Stone Circle at Ty'r-bwlch* Modern Stone Circle etc (SN1474234210)
 1.6km NNW 328° Lach y Fleiddast Burial Chamber or Dolmen (SN1535)
 1.6km SW 230° Carngyfrwy Round Barrow(s) (SN145326)
 1.8km SW 229° Carn Meini* Ancient Mine, Quarry or other Industry (SN1441432482)
 1.8km WSW 244° Carn Gwr Sourthern Cairn Cairn (SN14113285)
 1.9km WSW 246° Carn Gwr Cairn (SN14083290)
 1.9km SE 124° Crug yr Hwch Round Cairn (SN173325)
 1.9km SW 234° Carn Menyn Marker* Standing Stone (Menhir) (SN1424132570)
 1.9km W 271° Carn Alw* Ancient Village or Settlement (SN139337)
 2.0km SW 231° Carn Menyn - Worked Stone* Ancient Mine, Quarry or other Industry (SN1423132432)
 2.0km WSW 239° Carn Meini Tomb* Chambered Tomb (SN14033262)
 2.1km WSW 239° Carn Menyn* Round Cairn (SN140326)
 2.2km WSW 238° Carn Breseb Pointer* Standing Stone (Menhir) (SN1392332532)
 2.2km WSW 238° Stone River Stone* Standing Stone (Menhir) (SN1388832496)
 2.3km S 178° Waun Llwyd.* Standing Stones (SN1578131265)
 2.4km E 84° Crymych Wayside Barrow* Round Barrow(s) (SN18203375)
 2.5km SSW 213° Carn Menyn (Gate Post?)* Standing Stone (Menhir) (SN1438131557)
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"Foel Drygarn Fort" | Login/Create an Account | 6 News and Comments
  
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Foel Drygarn Fort Storytelling walk video with Carol Pearce and Tomos Ll. Jones by Andy B on Wednesday, 18 November 2020
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Virtually experience Foel Drygarn with Carol Pearce, Storyteller and Tomos Ll. Jones, Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority (in Welsh with subtitles).

Prior to COVID-19, the Preseli Heartlands Communities project team had intended to deliver a guided archaeological walk of the Iron Age hillfort site of Foel Drygarn, Crymych in spring 2020. The walk was due to be led by the National Park Authority’s Community Archaeologist in partnership with a storyteller. The Community Archaeologist would have given attendees a better understanding of the archaeological features at the site, while the storyteller would have brought the site to life in terms of imagining what living there might have been like for the inhabitants.

With the development of new ways of working, the project team decided to bring this cancelled walk to fruition by providing the experience of visiting the site virtually. While the Community Archaeologist points out features at the site, the storyteller will explore potential life at the site, including exploring the sensory experience of those who lived at the site.

The film has been produced through the Preseli Heartlands Communities project.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAjYsjK9Ex4

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Re: Foel Drygarn Quarries by mountainman on Wednesday, 24 October 2018
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I have tried to sort out the quarrying issue in a new post:
https://brian-mountainman.blogspot.com/2018/10/the-prehistoric-quarries-at-foel-drygarn.html

Will be interested to hear other views.
Cheers--Brian
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Re: Foel Drygarn Fort by rock on Friday, 17 November 2017
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I think they aren't Cairns but the ruins of stone walled round houses, such as community buildings, caved in. The fort was as important and impressive as a castle. They didn't quarry the rock from the outcrops and cliffs just to create a pile of rubble.
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Foel Drygarn Fort Video by Andy B on Wednesday, 21 June 2017
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Iain writes: see above for composite images taken from a height of around 120m. Here's a link to the whole video, filmed near sunset on Sunday (18th June) https://vimeo.com/222373142
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Re: Foel Drygarn Fort by sem on Friday, 02 June 2017
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OS grid ref (Coflein) SN1577133600
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Foel Drygarn Fort Street View by SteveDut on Friday, 26 March 2010
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