Moel Arthur ('Arthur's Hill') is an
Iron Age
The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...
hillfort
A hillfort is a type of fortification, fortified refuge or defended settlement located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typical of the late Bronze Age Europe, European Bronze Age and Iron Age Europe, Iron Age. So ...
in
Flintshire
Flintshire () is a county in the north-east of Wales. It borders the Irish Sea to the north, the Dee Estuary to the north-east, the English county of Cheshire to the east, Wrexham County Borough to the south, and Denbighshire to the west. ...
, Wales, at the boundary with
Denbighshire
Denbighshire ( ; ) is a county in the north-east of Wales. It borders the Irish Sea to the north, Flintshire to the east, Wrexham to the southeast, Powys to the south, and Gwynedd and Conwy to the west. Rhyl is the largest town, and Ruthi ...
, about east of
Denbigh
Denbigh ( ; ) is a market town and a community (Wales), community in Denbighshire, Wales. It was the original county town of the Denbighshire (historic), historic county of Denbighshire created in 1536. Denbigh's Welsh name () translates to ...
.
It is on a prominent hill, height , in the
Clwydian Range
The Clwydian Range (; also Clwydian Hills or Clwyds) is a series of hills in the north-east of Wales that runs from Llandegla in the south to Prestatyn in the north; the highest point is Moel Famau. The range forms the north-western part o ...
; it overlooks the
Vale of Clwyd
The Vale of Clwyd () is a tract of low-lying ground in the county of Denbighshire in north-east Wales. The Vale extends south-southwestwards from the coast of the Irish Sea for some 20 miles (about 30 km) forming a triangle of low ground bo ...
to the west.
Offa's Dyke Path
Offa's Dyke Path () is a long-distance footpath loosely following the Wales–England border. Officially opened on 10 July 1971, by John Hunt, Baron Hunt, Lord Hunt, it is one of Britain's National Trails and draws hillwalking, walkers from th ...
skirts the hill. It is about south-east of the hillfort of
Penycloddiau
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Penycloddiau is a hill in Flintshire, Wales, and one of five Marilyns in the Clwydian Range.
The hill, like Foel Fenlli and Moel Arthur to the south, has an Iron Age hillfort at its summit. It covers making it one of the largest ...
.
Description
The oval fort is about north–south and east–west, enclosing an area of . There are two large banks and ditches to the north, where the hill slope is not steep; above the steep south-west, south and east slopes there is a single bank. At the north-east, at the edge of the steeper slopes, there is a narrow inturned entrance with an oblique approach. The form of entrance, and the simple plan of the fort, suggest that it is an early example.
[Christopher Houlder. ''Wales: An Archaeological Guide''. Faber and Faber, 1978. Page 74.]["Moel Arthur"]
Clwydian Range and Dee Valley AONB
The Clwydian Range and Dee Valley () is a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB; also known as a ''National Landscape'') located in north-east Wales, covering the Clwydian Range (), and the valley of the River Dee ().
Designa ...
. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
Within the fortifications, there is a rounded summit. In the north and east of the interior there is a broad terrace, and building platforms have been found.
[
There was excavation in 1849 by Wynne Ffoulkes. He found "coarse red Roman pottery" which has not been preserved; it is not known if it was Roman, which would suggest occupation into the Roman period, or prehistoric. He found traces of a drystone construction, destroyed during the excavation, near the south of the entrance. In 1962, three copper ]Bronze Age
The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...
axes were found within the defences.[
]
See also
* Hillforts in Britain
Hillforts in Britain refers to the various hillforts within the island of Great Britain. Although the earliest such constructs fitting this description come from the Neolithic British Isles, with a few also dating to later Bronze Age Britain, Briti ...
* List of Scheduled Monuments in Flintshire
References
External links
* {{Commons category-inline, Moel Arthur
Hillforts in Flintshire
Hillforts in Denbighshire
Scheduled monuments in Flintshire
Mountains and hills of Flintshire