Pen Dinas facts for kids
Pen Dinas is a large hill located in Penparcau, a village on the coast of Ceredigion, Wales. It's just south of Aberystwyth. On top of this hill, there's a huge Iron Age hillfort. This ancient fort was built by the Celts and is very important for understanding history.
The full name for the fort is actually 'Dinas Maelor'. This means 'Maelor's Fort' or 'Maelor's City' in English. Old stories say it was the fort of a giant called Maelor Gawr. The name 'Pen Dinas' really only refers to the highest point of the hill. This is where the Wellington Monument stands today. On the southern part of the hill, people also built a burial mound during the Bronze Age.
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Building the Ancient Fort
The Pen Dinas hillfort wasn't built all at once. It's actually made up of two separate forts. These were built many years apart. Later, they were joined together to create one big fort.
First Fort: The Northern Summit
The first fort was built on the lower, northern part of the hill. It had an outer ditch and an inner wall, called a rampart. This rampart was made of rocks and rubble. On top of the rampart, there would have been a wooden fence, known as a palisade. The main entrance to this fort was on the western side. It was a stone-lined gap in the ditch and rampart.
Second Fort: The Southern Summit
After the first fort was left empty for a few decades, people started building a new one. This second fort was on the higher, southern part of the hill. This spot was naturally safer because the western side had a very steep slope.
On the south and east sides, huge terraced earthworks were built. These were like giant steps made of earth. They were covered with shale (a type of rock). Again, these earthworks would have had a wooden palisade on top for protection.
You could get into the southern fort through gateways on the north and south sides. These entrances were narrow paths through the earthworks. They probably had wooden bridges to cross the ditches. The northern gateway was bent to the left. This was likely a clever defense trick to slow down any attackers.
Changes Over Time
Eventually, the southern fort also became old and unused. There's proof that some of the wooden parts near the northern gateway were burned. This might have happened if enemies attacked the fort. Or, perhaps the people just didn't have enough resources to keep it going.
However, sometime later, the defenses of the southern fort were rebuilt. This time, they had a different design.
The very last stage of building was when the northern part of the fort was strengthened again. Then, banks and ditches were added to connect the two forts. This made the whole hilltop into one giant protected area.
The Romans Arrive
The Romans came to this area around 74 AD. Their arrival might have forced people to leave the fort. Or, maybe the fort was already empty before then. The only Roman evidence found is a collection of Roman coins. This coin hoard was from the early 4th century. It might have been left as an offering at a special place on the hill.
What We've Found
We haven't found many things from Pen Dinas yet. The only archaeological digs happened between 1933 and 1937. These were led by Professor Daryll Forde. During these digs, they found pieces of a pottery pot from around 100 BC. They also found beads, loom weights (used for weaving), and small pieces of rusted iron and bronze.
Pen Dinas and Other Forts
Pen Dinas is just one of many hillforts in this area. For example, there's Hen Gaer hillfort about 4 miles north, near Bow Street village. There are also forts near Goginan and Llanilar.
However, Pen Dinas shares many features with hillforts found further east, in the Welsh Marches. This is different from some other Welsh hillforts. This might mean that the people who built Pen Dinas came from the east around 300 BC.
