The Gop ( cy, Coparleni, also known as Gop Cairn or ''Gop-y-Goleuni'') is a

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 pa ...

monument lying within the

Clwydian Range The Clwydian Range ( cy, Bryniau Clwyd; also known as the Clwydian Hills; or simply the 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 being the pop ...

, northwest of

Trelawnyd Trelawnyd (formerly ''Newmarket'' from 1710 to 1954) is a village in Flintshire, Wales. The village had a population taken at the 2011 census of 584. It is part of the community of Trelawnyd and Gwaenysgor. Governance There is an electoral war ...

, in

Flintshire , settlement_type = County , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = , image_flag = , image_shield = Arms of Flint ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

, in the

. There is evidence that there was a considerable amount of stone on the top of hill, which may indicate that it was used as a

look-out A lookout or look-out is a person in charge of the observation of hazards. The term originally comes from a naval background, where lookouts would watch for other ships, land, and various dangers. The term has now passed into wider parlance. ...

hill fort 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 ...

Description

Oval in form, it is the second-largest neolithic mound in Britain after

Silbury Hill Silbury Hill is a prehistoric artificial chalk mound near Avebury in the English county of Wiltshire. It is part of the Stonehenge, Avebury and Associated Sites UNESCO World Heritage Site. At high, it is the tallest prehistoric man-made mound ...

, in

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

. Excavations have discovered prehistoric remains both in the caves below and in the mound itself. Excavations have uncovered no

burial chamber A chamber tomb is a tomb for burial used in many different cultures. In the case of individual burials, the chamber is thought to signify a higher status for the interred than a simple grave. Built from rock or sometimes wood, the chambers could ...

s or other underground works, which may indicate that it was used as a look-out or hill fort; there is evidence that there was a considerable amount of stone on the top of hill. In the 17th century, its prominent position allowed a

beacon A beacon is an intentionally conspicuous device designed to attract attention to a specific location. A common example is the lighthouse, which draws attention to a fixed point that can be used to navigate around obstacles or into port. More mode ...

to be placed there. The mound lies on top of Gop Hill (823 feet), a natural limestone outcrop, in the side of which are the Gop Caves. Gop_hill_clwydian_range

References

The Megalithic Portal and Megalith Map
https://allowflowbe.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=389&action=edit

External links

Photograph of the mound with the entrance to Gop Cave in the foreground
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gop Archaeological sites in Flintshire Scheduled monuments in Flintshire Mountains and hills of Flintshire Prehistoric sites in Wales Mounds