Castell Pen y Garn, Prenteg

Description

Situated on a small flat hilltop, in a prominent position overlooking Traeth Mawr are the scant remains of what is thought to be one of a small cluster of early stone-built castles constructed in Gwynedd at the end of the twelfth century; together with Castell Aber Ia (Castell Deudraeth) (NPRN 302700), Carn Fadrun (NPRN 95275), Dinas Emrys (NPRN 95284) and Tomen Castell (NPRN 303046). These were not placed to withstand alien invasion, but were rather an expression of a Prince's power and lordship in the unsettled period following the death of Owain Gwynedd in 1170 and the subsequent division of the county between his sons. Very little survives of the castle, which was first identified in 1990 by the Snowdonia National Park archaeologist. The surviving remains define an outer defensive circuit of stone construction which follows the edge of crags and natural topography and encloses a roughly oval area 30m by 40m in size. (Louise Barker, RCAHMW, 5th June 2008)

Comments

Whether these sites are actually twelfth-century castles or much earlier fortified homesteads may only ever be determined by excavation at a future date. (Davis, 2011, with regard to this site and Castell Aber Ia (Castell Deudraeth), Carn Fadrun and Pen y Castell.)