Between Newport and Cardigan, in the heart of some of the most beautiful natural landscapes in Wales, there lies a portal into the late Iron Age and Roman era. Plumes of smoke rise from the thatched roofs of roundhouses clustered behind the staunch defenses of an Iron Age fortress. To the west looms the mysterious dark summit of Carn Ingli (Mount of Angels). The lush green of the Pengelli Forest nature reserve spreads out to the east. To the south over gently rolling farmlands, the Preseli Hills keep their silent vigil. From those hills, the bluestones of Stonehenge were quarried. On the site of Castell Henllys, visitors can step inside and explore a living reconstruction of ancient history.

Castell Henllys is a perfect example of a late Iron Age Welsh promontory hill fort, situated on a naturally defensible hill with steep escarpments on three sides. Welsh Iron age hillforts tend to be smaller but more numerous than their English counterparts, such as Castell Henllys, which only covers a little more than one acre. Its original 100-150 residents enjoyed the additional security of a man-made embankment around their walls. The only approach, an entrance in the northwest, was protected by several ditches and earthen banks. Established between 500 and 100 B.C., the fort was consistently occupied through the Roman period into the fourth century A.D. An adjacent Romano-British farmstead shows evidence of post-Roman activity.

For the past 20 years, archaeological excavation and study has been going on at this site. Twenty years ago, the "old roundhouse" was erected according to Iron Age methods. Today it is the longest standing reconstructed roundhouse in Britain, part of a living community populated by re-enactors in period clothing who demonstrate what life might have been like in ancient Wales. Presently the hillfort contains three large and several smaller roundhouses, a smithy, a raised floor granary and livestock. The site is considered historically accurate enough to serve as the setting for the popular 2001 BBC-TV series "Surviving the Iron Age" where a group of adventurers embarked upon a seven-week trip back in time.

The walls of the roundhouses were made of wattle-and-daub construction. Pliable hazel or willow rods were twisted around stakes, bound together with hemp ropes, then smeared with a mixture of clay, hay, soil, dung and water and washed with lime. When dried, this made a well-insulated wall. The cone-shaped roofs were thatched with reeds and water. No chimney was necessary, as the smoke would escape through the thatch. The structure of these roundhouses made them both durable and comfortable. For detailed step-by-step animated instructions for building a roundhouse, click here!

The defences of Castell Henllys are especially complex and massive, showing evidence of continuous rebuilding. A rare hoard of slingshots was found just behind the walls of Castell Henllys. The elaborate defences would have called for a lot of maintenance, proof that this was a high status site, well able to afford the resources needed to keep it secure. In Welsh, Castell Henllys is "castle of the prince's court", a fitting name for what may well have once been home to royalty.

A strange and fascinating feature was discovered just outside the main defences of the hill. Several rows of sharp and stubby stones were uncovered, probably once serving as defence against cavalry and chariots. These are called "chevaux-de-frise" and similar defences have been found in front of the walls of Spanish hillforts. Mounted attackers would be slowed down by the low rows of stones, making them easy targets for slingshot snipers lurking behind the banks.

Castell Henllys has been owned and managed by Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority since 1991. It is just one of many prehistoric promontory forts in the Park. Take a virtual tour of Castell Henllys by clicking here.


Sources

"Castell Henllys." Current Archaeology, November 13, 1999

Council for British Archaeology – Wales – Newsletter No. 21, 2001

"Castell Henllys." University of York, November 22, 2006

Castell Henllys: Iron Age Fort

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Article & Graphics by Fenian Niafer
Map & icon by MacMorna Niafer
Hood design by Fedelm Cruithni

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