Braich y Dinas (The Gatehouse Record)

Braich y Dinas

In the community of Llanfairfechan.
In the historic county of Caernarfonshire.
Modern authority of Conwy.
Preserved county of Gwynedd.

OS Map Grid Reference: SH70027383
Latitude 53.24544° Longitude -3.94947°

Braich y Dinas has been described as a Timber Castle although is doubtful that it was such.

There are earthwork remains.

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.

Description

A small hillfort on a rounded hillock with steep slopes on all sides except NE. There appears to have been a central enclosure of about 120' diameter with two additional rampants on the S and on the N. The walls were about 9' thick, of loose stones faced with upright slabs. The fort has been extensively robbed and the walls survive only to about 1' in height. There are traces of 14 huts, varying from 20'-30' in diameter. Most of them seem to be later than the rampants. The rampants were sectioned in 1925 and the central hut was partly excavated. No dating evidence was found. Terraced fields, more round huts, and a single long hut to the NE, outside the scheduled area. Dinas is a small hillfort which has been extensively robbed. It would appear to consist of a central enclosure some 40m in diameter with a central hut and three additional ramparts on the north and south sides. Traces of a further 13 huts, of 7-10m in diameter, lie within these additional ramparts. Partial excavation in the 1920's by Harold Hughes and Beazant Lowe revealed two quern fragments and fragments of a rubbing stone. (Coflein)

A small hillfort on a rounded hillock with steep slopes on all sides except NE. There appears to have been a central enclosure of about 120ft diameter with two additional ramparts on the S and on the N. The walls were about 9ft thick, of loose stones faced with upright slabs. The fort has been extensively robbed and the walls survive only to about 1ft in height. There are traces of 14 huts, varying from 20ft-30ft in diameter. Most of them seem to be later than the ramparts. The ramparts were sectioned in 1925 and the central hut was partly excavated. No dating evidence was found. The remains are nothing more than these of an enclosed hut group, rather unusually situated. (Gwynedd Archaeological Trust HER)

Comments

A small Iron Age hillfort in a strong natural position. Lewis writes "In this formidable post the remnant of the Welsh army is said to have been placed, as in a retreat of inviolable security, during the negotiations that were pending between Edward I. and Llewelyn, previously to the final submission of the principality to English authority." Not a medieval castle but Lewis account can not be dismissed and there is a possibility that some work was done to reinforce the prehistoric earthworks by Llewelyn's men.

Sources of information, references and further reading

The CADW scheduled monument record number is CN049.
The National Monument Record (Coflein) number(s) for this site is/are 95310.
The County Historic Environment Record (formerly Sites and Monuments Record) number(s) for this site is/are 392.

Books
- RCAHMW, 1956, A Survey and Inventory of the Ancient Monuments of Caernarvonshire Vol. 1: East (HMSO) p. 119 no. 391 online copy
  Lewis, Samual, 1849, A Topographical Dictionary of Wales online copy
Periodical Articles
- Hughes, H. and Lowe, W.B., 1925, 'Dinas, Llanfairfechan. Excavations by the Llandudno, Colwyn Bay and District Field Club' Archaeologia Cambrensis Vol. 80 p. 342-364

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The information on this web page may be derived from information compiled by and/or copyright of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historic Monuments of Wales, the four welsh archaeological trusts and other individuals and organisations. It may also contain Designated Historic Asset Descriptive Information from The Welsh Historic Environment Service (Cadw), licensed under the Open Government Licence. All the sources given should be consulted to identify the original copyright holder and permission obtained from them before use of the information on this site for commercial purposes.
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The bibliography owes much to various bibliographies produced by John Kenyon for the Council for British Archaeology, the Castle Studies Group and others.

Suggestions for finding online and/or hard copies of bibliographical sources can be seen at this link.
Minor archaeological investigations, such as watching brief reports, and some other 'grey' literature is most likely to be held by H.E.R.s but is often poorly referenced and is unlikely to be recorded here, or elsewhere, but some suggestions can be found here.

The possible site or monument is represented on maps as a point location. This is a guide only. It should be noted that OS grid references defines an area, not a point location. In practice this means the actual center of the site or monument may often, but not always, be to the North East of the point shown.
Locations derived from OS grid references and from latitude longitiude may differ by a small distance.
Further information on mapping and location can be seen at this link.

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This record last updated 02/07/2016 09:27:08

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