MG229

Allt Dolanog Hillfort  

23/05/1996  

Designated  

Powys  

Llanfihangel  

306423  

313337  

Defence  

Hillfort  

Prehistoric  

The following provides a general description of the Scheduled Ancient Monument. The monument comprises the remains of a hillfort, which probably dates to the Iron Age period (c. 800 BC - AD 74, the Roman conquest of Wales). Hillforts are usually Iocated on hilltops and surrounded by a single or multiple earthworks of massive proportions. Hillforts must have formed symbols of power within the landscape, while their function may have had as much to do with ostentation and display as defence. Allt Dolanog is an oval, bivallete enclosure which occupies the most prominent outcrop on Allt Dolanog on unimproved moorland. The defences are strongest on the north and west, where the exterior height of outer and inner banks achieve 1m and 2.3m respectively. The ditch between the two banks is well preserved, rock cut in places and now prone to hold water. The outer ditch is insignificant. Entrances could lie on the north-east or enhanced, but otherwise this side is undefended, where the natural slope is steeper. The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of later prehistoric defensive organisation and settlement. The site forms an important element within the wider later prehistoric context and within the surrounding landscape. The site is well preserved and retains considerable archaeological potential. There is a strong probability of the presence of evidence relating to chronology, building techniques and functional detail. The scheduled area comprises the remains described and areas around them within which related evidence may be expected to survive.