418:
lease â held and managed by
Colonel C. H. Darbishire â for the preservation of the camp. He also argued that extending the quarry in any other direction than towards the camp would be 'impractical and impossible'; speaking from the financial point of view of the owner of the lease. The land in question was described as residing partly on 'Crown wasteland' and partly on 'land sold many years ago to Mr Darbishire, reserving minerals'. It emerged during questioning that surveys of the area from 1840 conducted by one Mr John Jones, failed to show any antiquarian remains at the site. There was some confusion as to the current extent of the damage to the site â indeed Mr More initially described the incursion of the quarry as "small"—but it was conceded upon further examination that because of recent expansion of operations at the blasting site, much of the remaining area must necessarily have already been destroyed. Mr More later admitted to having misled the commission by claiming that only "a small part" of the site was contained within the current lease; when in fact the lease was actually provisioned for an area containing the "whole of the camp." When asked whether it was within the remit of the Department of Woods and Forests to collect information 'respecting the history' of the properties in its charge; Mr More answered that the department had always been run 'to the advantage of the public revenue.' Somewhat contradicting this confused testimony, an
292:"Upon reaching the fortified British post of Braich y Dinas, on the summit of Penmaen Mawr, we found the circuits of stone walls still perfect in some parts, but greatly dilapidated in others. They are about 12 to 15 feet height, and about 12 feet thick; of loose stones, not fitting into each other with any attempt at masonry, but merely the shattered debris of that rough mountain piled together by human art. There is no appearance of mortar, nor of vitrification. Between the walls, and inside the central inclosure, but especially on the north eastern side of the summit, are a vast number of small circular cells, or cyttiau, which no doubt served for the habitations of the persons occupying this fortified post, and similar to those so common on the
315:
307:
406:
235:. By the mid 19th Century these still stood in places to a height of 9 ft., and varied from 8 to 15 ft. in thickness. The number and character of the entrances were uncertain. The interior contained 90 or more huts of various shapes but mostly oval with a usual diameter of 10â20 ft. Their walls were of similar construction to the rampart, about 5 or 6 ft. thick, and stood in places to a height of 4 ft. Summit top cairns were noted by another 18th Century
60:
220:
44:
284:
330:, speculated belonged to a handled tankard; based on other, similar pieces from the wider area. Hughes also describes two matching bronze bracelets, ornamented with concentric circles, a design, he conjectured, would have been derived from Celtic, rather than Roman inspiration. Datable finds from the fort include a Middle Bronze Age looped spearhead, Roman coins featuring the Emperors
67:
378:
raised the issue of Braich-y-Dinas (named as 'Pendinas') with the Prime
Minister, only to be told that the 600 jobs sustained by the quarry took precedence over the prehistoric remains. Having failed in Parliament, attention was turned 'to the creation of a strong public opinion to bring pressure to
264:
speculates that this conclusion is almost certainly incorrect; noting that the surviving plans of the fort suggest several periods of construction. The evidence of the relics suggests that the most prosperous inhabitants of the fort were those living between the outer and middle ramparts, as all the
417:
in
February 1912, confirmed that blasting work was currently under way on the crest of Penmaenmawr. Upon examination by the Commission, the Crown Receiver of His Majesty's Woods and Forests Department for Wales and Monmouthshire, Mr William Henry More confirmed that there was no provision in the
366:
to 'make an inventory of the
Ancient and Historical Monuments and Constructions connected with or illustrative of the contemporary culture, civilisation and conditions of life of the people in Wales and Monmouthshire from the earliest times, and to specify those which seem most worthy of
367:
preservation'. From 1909, the newly-founded commission made efforts to rescue the already partly-destroyed site from further harm caused by the extensive quarrying being undertaken by the
Darbishire family. Several local newspaper articles from June 1909 attest to this, reporting that
422:
aerial photograph taken eleven years later in 1923 appears to show much of the camp still intact; with the shapes of over 50 huts still visible on the mountainside (see comparison image); and indeed finds were still being recorded from the site up until 1934, at the earliest.
389:. Ultimately unsuccessful and faced with the imminent destruction of the site, members of the commission made several visits to the Braich-y-Dinas hillfort in order to preserve some written record of the remaining structures; and an extensive survey was undertaken by
231:, who visited the site as part of his 'A Tour in Wales' series (1778â1783). He gives the original height of the mountain as 1545 feet and noted its excellent preservation. The hilltop was defended by massive ramparts of roughly coursed rubble masonry, with no
296:
hills. Some of them were singularly perfect, and one, near the present north western entrance to the fortress, is still covered with its roof, but we could not penetrate within, and we did not feel ourselves justified in attempting to remove the
342:(reigned 117 AD â 138 AD); as well as numerous pottery fragments, most from late 1st and early 2nd Century AD, with some fewer appearing from as late as the 3rd and 4th Centuries AD. Also found at the site was a large
379:
bear upon the quarrying company concerned with a view of the preservation of the summit of a mountain at
Penmaenmawr.' In 1910, an article about the destruction of Braich-y-Dinas appeared in British newspaper
573:
440:
414:
261:
207:. It was once considered the best preserved and most complete hillfort in North-West Wales, but completely disappeared in the first half of the 20th century due to a massive
260:
All datable objects were originally assigned to the period AD 100â400, and no evidence was found to indicate more than one period of construction, but T. Driver of the
778:
The Welsh Coast
Pioneer and Review for North Cambria: Archived and made available in digital format by Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru â The National Library of Wales
250:, which would date organised human activity on the site to at least c. 2000-2500 BC. The wider area is well known for its Neolithic activity, and indeed the
1031:
372:
512:
211:
by the
Darbishire family, which overwhelmed and eventually destroyed all traces of it, despite efforts by the Royal Commission to save the site.
90:
903:"Report of the committee on ancient earthworks and fortified enclosures, Prepared for presentation to the Congress of Archaeological Societies"
246:â (writing in 1771), and indeed three are included on the detailed 1877 plan (see image in infobox). These are speculated to have been early
131:
804:
The North Wales Weekly News: Archived and made available in digital format by
Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru â The National Library of Wales
394:
314:
306:
527:
208:
405:
59:
532:. Digitised and archived by Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru â The National Library of Wales. London: Self Published. p. 306.
684:
461:
1003:
127:
724:
706:
597:
An
Inventory of the Ancient Monuments in Caernarvonshire: I East: the Cantref of Arllechwedd and the Commote of Creuddyn
479:
1036:
462:"IRON AGE SETTLEMENTS IN WALES: CADW DEFENDED ENCLOSURES PUBLICATION HILLFORTS AND HUT GROUPS IN NORTH-WEST WALES"
390:
323:
825:
773:
327:
277:
273:
251:
380:
880:
851:
902:
732:
925:
Minutes of Evidence given before the Royal Commission on Ancient Monuments in Wales and Monmouthshire
375:
368:
257:
factory of Graig Lwyd â one of the largest in Wales â can be found nestled at the Southeast corner.
184:
265:
Samian pottery, and four of the six coins found, came from this part of the fort. The site produced
759:
513:"This text is reproduced under the Non-Commercial Government License for public sector information"
629:
385:
247:
1014:: 174â176. June 1934 – via Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru â The National Library of Wales.
544:
987:
971:
955:
939:
923:
685:"RE-ASSESSMENT OF TWO HILLFORTS IN NORTH WALES: PEN-Y-DINAS, LLANDUDNO AND CAER SEION, CONWY"
595:
611:
The Royal Commission on ancient and historical monuments in Wales and Monmouthshire (1960).
359:
219:
799:
745:
661:
419:
293:
243:
228:
122:
43:
707:"Archaeologia Cambrensis, Journal of the Cambrian Archaeological Association: Vol. 89"
662:"Archaeologia Cambrensis, Journal of the Cambrian Archaeological Association: Vol. 92"
283:
1025:
347:
647:
Archaeologia Cambrensis, Journal of the Cambrian Archaeological Association: Vol. 89
600:. Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales. pp. 40â70.
409:
Comparison between 1923 aerial photograph of site, and modern day satellite imagery.
343:
266:
612:
236:
196:
34:
30:
672:: 215 – via Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru â The National Library of Wales.
363:
254:
105:
92:
649:. Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru â The National Library of Wales. p. 206.
232:
200:
240:
142:
565:
546:
Archaeologia, Or, Miscellaneous Tracts, Relating to Antiquity, Volume 3
339:
335:
322:
Notable finds from the site include a bronze mount (pictured), which
223:
1909 photo of wall at Braich-y-Dinas, by H. Picton and W. Bezant Lowe
404:
331:
313:
305:
282:
218:
204:
441:
Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales
415:
Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales
614:
An Inventory of the Ancient Monuments in Caernarvonshire: I East
383:, which was also picked up and reported across the Atlantic in
910:
The Committee on Ancient Earthworks and Fortified Enclosures
227:
One of the earliest written accounts of the fort comes from
431:
Nothing at all remains of the hillfort at Braich-y-Dinas.
507:
505:
928:. His Majesty's Stationery Office. 1912. pp. 95â97.
881:"Oldest Dwellings in the United Kingdom Being Destroyed"
852:"Oldest Dwellings in the United Kingdom Being Destroyed"
310:
Photograph of the bronze mount found at Braich-y-Dinas.
549:. The Society of Antiquaries of London. p. 306.
280:; details the hillfort as seen in 1845, as follows:
179:
174:
166:
161:
153:
148:
138:
121:
84:
23:
634:. Cambrian Archaeological Association. p. 71.
617:. Her Majesty's Stationery Office. pp. 85â86.
1004:"Miscellania, A Bronze Mount From Braich-y-Dinas"
594:Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (1956).
694:: 14 – via Gwynedd Archaeological Trust.
566:"Braich-y-dinas Hillfort, Penmaenmawr (56668)"
287:1877 Illustration of a hut, at Braich-y-Dinas
8:
467:. Gwynedd Archaeological Trust. p. 41.
195:was an extensive hillfort at the summit of
762:. Conwy Archives Service. 2007. p. 4.
20:
560:
558:
556:
318:Bronze bracelet found at Braich-y-Dinas.
452:
272:An eyewitness account of the site from
199:, one of the northernmost peaks of the
741:
730:
215:Eyewitness description of the hillfort
66:
774:"Quarrying Operations in Penmaenmawr"
16:Hillfort in Penmaenmawr, Conwy, Wales
7:
800:"A Prehistoric Camp at Penmaenmawr"
395:Cambrian Archaeological Association
14:
1032:Hillforts in Conwy County Borough
631:Archaeologia Cambrensis, Volume 1
203:mountain range on North coast of
683:Smith, George (22 August 2012).
362:was authorised and appointed by
269:, but none of the rotary type'.
65:
58:
42:
628:Jones, H. Longueville (1846).
480:"Caer Seiont, Conway Mountain"
1:
832:. 21 October 1910. p. 11
401:Destruction of Braich-y-Dinas
338:(reigned 98 AD â 117 AD) and
901:Chater, A.G. (6 July 1910).
760:"Penmaenmawr Quarry Records"
830:The North Wales Weekly News
183:351 m (1,152 ft)
1053:
705:Hughes, H. Harold (1934).
660:Hughes, H. Harold (1937).
413:Evidence given before the
806:. 25 June 1909. p. 9
780:. 24 June 1909. p. 2
645:Hughes, H.Harold (1934).
334:(reigned 96 AD â 98 AD),
53:
41:
28:
543:Pownall, Thomas (1775).
354:Efforts to save the site
1008:Archaeologia Cambrensis
711:Archaeologia Cambrensis
666:Archaeologia Cambrensis
526:Pennant, Thomas (178).
484:Archaeologia Cambrensis
478:Picton, Harold (1909).
328:Archaeologia Cambrensis
274:Archaeologia Cambrensis
106:53.260721°N 3.9488339°W
740:Cite journal requires
410:
319:
311:
288:
224:
408:
358:On 10 August 1908, a
317:
309:
286:
222:
111:53.260721; -3.9488339
692:Archaeology in Wales
278:H. Longueville Jones
175:Airfield information
890:. 27 November 1910.
460:Smith, G.H (2008).
373:Carmarthen District
302:Finds from the site
102: /
888:The New York Times
861:. 27 November 1910
859:The New York Times
411:
386:The New York Times
346:, and a sandstone
320:
312:
289:
225:
1037:Prehistoric Wales
826:"An Earnest Plea"
490:(6th Series): 503
376:Llewelyn Williams
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360:Royal Commission
209:quarrying effort
149:Site information
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529:A Tour in Wales
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364:King Edward VII
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294:Caernarvonshire
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742:|journal=
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326:, writing for
303:
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276:correspondent
244:Thomas Pownall
229:Thomas Pennant
216:
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193:Braich-y-Dinas
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128:grid reference
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123:Grid reference
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73:Braich-y-Dinas
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64:
63:
57:
56:
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48:Braich-y-Dinas
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39:
38:
26:
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24:Braich-y-Dinas
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13:
10:
9:
6:
4:
3:
2:
1049:
1038:
1035:
1033:
1030:
1029:
1027:
1013:
1009:
1005:
999:
996:
992:. p. 97.
991:
990:
983:
980:
976:. p. 96.
975:
974:
967:
964:
960:. p. 96.
959:
958:
951:
948:
944:. p. 96.
943:
942:
935:
932:
927:
926:
919:
916:
911:
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897:
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391:Harold Hughes
388:
387:
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365:
361:
353:
351:
349:
348:spindle whorl
345:
341:
337:
333:
329:
325:
324:Harold Hughes
316:
308:
301:
299:
298:
295:
285:
281:
279:
275:
270:
268:
267:saddle querns
263:
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988:
982:
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966:
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934:
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918:
909:
896:
887:
875:
863:. Retrieved
858:
846:
834:. Retrieved
829:
820:
808:. Retrieved
803:
794:
782:. Retrieved
777:
768:
754:
733:cite journal
719:
710:
700:
691:
678:
669:
665:
655:
646:
640:
630:
623:
613:
606:
596:
589:
579:30 September
577:. Retrieved
569:
545:
538:
528:
521:
492:. Retrieved
487:
483:
473:
455:
430:
412:
384:
357:
344:saddle quern
321:
291:
290:
271:
259:
226:
192:
191:
162:Site history
18:
237:antiquarian
197:Penmaenmawr
109: /
85:Coordinates
35:North Wales
31:Penmaenmawr
1026:Categories
713:(89): 208.
447:References
427:Modern day
381:The Sphere
248:Bronze Age
233:orthostats
94:53°15â˛39âłN
865:4 October
836:4 October
810:3 October
784:3 October
494:7 October
252:Neolithic
201:Carneddau
180:Elevation
167:Materials
157:Destroyed
154:Condition
97:3°56â˛56âłW
435:See also
393:for the
297:stones."
241:Governor
143:Hillfort
132:SH701755
570:Coflein
340:Hadrian
727:: 208.
725:"Ibid"
574:RCAHMW
336:Trajan
262:RCAHMW
906:(PDF)
884:(PDF)
855:(PDF)
688:(PDF)
465:(PDF)
332:Nerva
205:Wales
170:Stone
989:Ibid
973:Ibid
957:Ibid
941:Ibid
912:: 4.
867:2017
838:2017
812:2017
786:2017
746:help
581:2021
496:2017
371:for
185:AMSL
139:Type
420:RAF
255:Axe
1028::
1012:89
1010:.
1006:.
908:.
886:.
857:.
828:.
802:.
776:.
737::
735:}}
731:{{
709:.
690:.
670:92
668:.
664:.
572:.
568:.
555:^
504:^
486:.
482:.
397:.
369:MP
350:.
239:â
33:,
869:.
840:.
814:.
788:.
748:)
744:(
583:.
515:.
498:.
488:9
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
