CN028

Tre'r Ceiri Camp  

08/03/1923  

Designated  

Gwynedd  

Llanaelhaearn  

237291  

344639  

Defence  

Hillfort  

Prehistoric  

The following provides a general description of the Scheduled Monument. The monument comprises the remains of a large hillfort dating to the Iron Age period (c.800BC - AD74 the Roman conquest of Wales), in a spectacular hilltop setting. Tre'r Ceiri (which can be translated as 'Town of the Giants') is located on the most easterly peak of Yr Eifl, of which the summit rises to 485m OD. The defences consist of a stone wall, up to 4m high on the outside, and up to 4.5m thick at the base. The main wall encloses an irregular oval area 290m long and with a maximum width of 104m, covering some 2.02ha. There is an outer wall on the NW, about 30m away from the main wall, which forms a revetment against the slope. It is up to 2.4m high from the outside. Between it and the main wall there are irregular groups of small stone-walled enclosures which continue around the south end of the hillfort; in total the site covers some 3 hectares. There are two main, and three smaller entrances and within the main wall there are the remains of about 150 stone huts. In addition, other features such as wall-walks and stone parapets are very rare examples of Iron Age masonry. A cairn sits on the highest point of the hill, echoing the cairns on the other two summits of Yr Eifl and on Mynydd Carnguwch. The site has been excavated on four occasions between 1903 and 1956, and has been described and planned by the RCAHMW. Finds from inside some of the huts have been dated to the 1st to 4th centuries, demonstrating that they were occupied throughout the Romano-British period. Extensive consolidation and site management work was undertaken between 1989 and 1997. The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of later prehistoric defensive organisation and settlement. It retains significant archaeological potential, with a strong probability of the presence of associated archaeological features and deposits. The structures themselves may be expected to contain archaeological information concerning chronology and building techniques. The scheduled area comprises the remains described and areas around them within which related evidence may be expected to survive.