Tag Archives: Hillforts
Pen-Clawdd-Mawr Hillfort
Tranquil Drone Flight around Pen-Clawdd-Mawr Hillfort and beautiful scenery nr Talsan in West Wales
WA2363: Pen Clawdd-Mawr.
Back in April I went out to investigate a series of overlooking Hillforts dotted along the Aeron valley in West Wales.
Not much is known about these ‘Pen Y Gear’s’, research has been minimal but they took up prominent defensive positions along the valley. Each fort was within a couple of miles of the neighbour and most look to have somehow artificially flattened the prominences , before constructing huge banks and ditches in defensive patterns. Maybe these were then topped with huge dry stone walls. Where they really defensive forts? Probably the smaller ones where fortified farmsteads perhaps for larger family farming groups, hunkered down together in a period of danger but usually living and farming the surrounding land.
Today not much is left of the Great Headland Bank as the name translates. Sheep as always are left to graze peacefully atop the green meadows that used to house the Iron Age community that once lived there. The village of Talsarn can be seen across the valley about a mile to the north and it is situated below the peak of TryChrug (343 Metres). Lower on the flank of the summit to the left is an ominous looking spur, this too is a Hillfort, we shall travel there soon. In spring on a sunny day the Aeron Valley is stunningly beautiful and the county of Ceredigion as a whole is one of the most sparsely populated areas in the whole of mainland Britain. ‘Aeron’ itself translates as ‘Berries’ in this case probably Blackberries as they can still be found all over.
Music, a newbie from Nostramus, seemed to fit the mood of the flight. So new is this track that for the time being I will call it “Pen-Clawdd-Mawr” Hope you like it!
Pen Y Gaer Hillfort
A tranquil Drone Flight around Pen Y Gaer Hillfort and beautiful scenery at Bwlch-Llan in West Wales
WA2393 Pen-y-Gaer, Nantcwnlle, nr Bwlch Llan, Ceredigion https://hillforts.arch.ox.ac.uk/
Back in April I took ‘Buzby’ my drone out to investigate a series of overlooking Hillforts dotted alon the Aeron valley in West Wales. Not much is known about these ‘Pen Y Gear’s’ research has been minimal but they took up prominent defensive positions along the valley. Each fort was within a couple of miles of the neighbour and most look to have somehow artificially flattened the prominences , before constructing huge banks and ditches in defensive patterns. Maybe these were then topped with huge dry stone walls. Where they really defensive forts? Probally the smaller ones where fortified farmsteads perhaps for larger family farming groups, hunkered down together in a period of danger but usually living and farming the surrounding land.
The scenery along the Aeron Valley is stunningly green and beautiful on a bright spring day the hills stand up to 250 metres above the valley floor. The tiny village of Bwlch Llan sits serenely, protected by the Pen Y Gaer prominence and we float peacefully around the village Church. Finally the old master skeleton of a tree sits in proud judgement like a decaying green man as the drone drifts back to earth.
Music a gentle techno acid meditation I wrote back in the 90’s which I later released as part of the “Ruff and Tuff at The Edges” cassette compilation which was co opted by The Hidden Corporation. This project co existed with the genesis of Nostramus. It did have a name I will correct it when I can by for now I will call it Gentle Arpeggio.
New Youtube Channel!
On this channel I will be sharing some of the fantastic hidden gems that inhabit one of the remotest and least populated areas of all England and Wales. I will be using my DJI Mini 2 UAV orv ‘drone’ to reveal fabulous birds eye views of some of these ancient kingdoms historical and mythical Hillforts, Cairns, Stone Circles, Chambered Tombs, Standing Stones and other ancient artefacts.
The DJI Mini 2 is a fantastic beginners drone, there are plenty other channels that explain how it works, the remit of this channel is to get out there and get some wonderful footage. For me, the Mini 2 is a cinematic eye in the sky with the ability to record crystal sharp images and 4k video footage. I have been developing my drone flying and cinematographic techniques, it’s one thing to fly high and take pictures but it is another to entice, add drama and expectation, to tantalize, to thrill with a beautifully cinematic drone footage, revealing hidden Hillforts in all their glory.
All music by Steve Spon and Nostramus.
DJI Mini 2 Drone Cinematic footage of Teifi Valley Hillforts Part One Caer Gwytheryn
Welcome to “Dronescaping “Ynys Prydein” for those of you who are not familiar this translates from old British or Welsh into English as “The Isle of Britain” PILOT MINISERIES Part One : “Caer Gwytheryn” Hillfort WA2192 This is a pilot two part series, looking at three Iron Age Hillforts overlooking The Teifi Valley in Wales. This is part one of my series pilot investigating and revealing private, hidden and secret Iron Age Hillforts, most yet to be investigated by Archaeologists. Not much is known about these forts, communities and settlements , there is no doubt our ancestors in this part of the world utilized high promontories, atop deep cwms (narrow coombes or valleys) to either protect themselves or to show off to their neighbours or other would be adversary’s.
We are set in the kingdoms of West Wales, Ceredigion, Carmarthen, Pembrokeshire all counties in the former kingdom of Dyfed in Cymru in Ynys Prydien. Or sometimes this is spelt Prydian. There are literally hundreds of these hillforts scattered around this part of the world. Many are lost, sometimes they crumble into the Sea or sometimes they simply get ploughed out and forgotten. These are where the ancestors of these lands once lived, in this rugged and Atlantic affected part of the world where the ancient mountains, once high and sharp have been eroded by the eons and ground down by the glaciers, to form a rugged terrain of solid hills reaching up to 350 metres, with deep gullies or cwms to quickly dispose of the water dumped by the Atlantic Ocean. Farmers have mostly tamed the land today and Cows and Sheep are what provides for the current look of the landscape, but you are never far from a bit of rough ‘Gors’ (Marshland)or Waun (Moorland)
This is the land of the Welsh Annals of Arthur, Merlin and as written in the ‘Mabinogion’ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mabinogion Some of these Castells, Caers or Dinas are mentioned in the tales of the Welsh Annals and one such is “Craig Gwrtheyrn” situated on a dominating strategic outcrop, high above the Afon Teifi (River Teifi). This castell or fort was formerly know as “Caer Gwrtheyrn” (Vortigerns Castle) and written about by 9th century scholar Nennius quoting Saint Germinus.
The quote is read out in this video by Ella Jo , the performance is delivered in appropriate and usual dexterity adding to the mystical and mythical atmosphere as we peacefully drift over sheep chomping like there is no tomorrow, blissfully unaware of the human history , both mythical and real just meters below their feet.
DJI Mini 2 Drone Cinematic footage of Teifi Valley Hillforts Part Two Hen Castell and Pen Coed Foel
#DJI Mini 2, #Cinematic Footage, #Ancient Landscapes, #Arial Photography
Welcome to “Dronescaping “Ynys Prydein” for those of you who are not familiar this translates from old British or Welsh into English as “The Isle of Britain”
PILOT MINISERIES Part Two : “Hen Castell” Hillfort WA2193 and “Pen Coed Y Foel Camp” Hillfort WA2302
This is a pilot two part series, looking at three Iron Age Hillforts overlooking The Teifi Valley in Wales.
This is part two of my series pilot investigating and revealing private, hidden and secret Iron Age Hillforts, most yet to be investigated by Archaeologists.
Not much is known about these forts, communities and settlements , there is no doubt our ancestors in this part of the world utilized high promontories, atop deep cwms (narrow coombes or valleys) to either protect themselves or to show off to their neighbors or other would be adversary’s.
We are set in the kingdoms of West Wales, Ceredigion, Carmarthen, Pembrokeshire all counties in the former kingdom of Dyfed in Cymru in Ynys Prydien. Or sometimes this is spelt Prydian. There are literally hundreds of these hillforts scattered around this part of the world. Many are lost, sometimes they crumble into the Sea or sometimes they simply get ploughed out and forgotten. These are where the ancestors of these lands once lived, in this rugged and Atlantic affected part of the world where the ancient mountains, once high and sharp have been eroded by the eons and ground down by the glaciers, to form a rugged terrain of solid hills reaching up to 350 metres, with deep gullies or cwms to quickly dispose of the water dumped by the Atlantic Ocean. Farmers have mostly tamed the land today and Cows and Sheep are what provides for the current look of the landscape, but you are never far from a bit of rough ‘Gors’ (Marshland)or Waun (Moorland)
This is the land of the Welsh Annals of Arthur, Merlin and as written in the ‘Mabinogion’ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mabinogion Some of these Castells, Caers or Dinas are mentioned in the tales of the Welsh Annals and one such is “Craig Gwrtheyrn” situated on a dominating strategic outcrop, high above the Afon Teifi (River Teifi), we focused on this on part one . This episode focusses firstly on ‘Hen Castell’ in Carmarthen which rises on a promontory overlooking the Afon or River Teifi across from Llandysul which is on the Ceredigion side.’ Hen’ in Welsh means old so could be the early settlement predating Llandysul. It is interestingly opposite the ‘old’ church dedicated to the Welsh Saint Tysul who was related to the Welsh Patron Saint St David. There is no dating evidence for this Castell. It is situated on a promontory, jutting into the would be straight course of the River an it is about 80 to 100 feet higher than the surrounding topography, today it is forgotten by humans and is grazed by Horses and Sheep. Pen Coed Y Foel Camp is situated a mile to the north on a large dome shaped hill rising high above the Teifi as it rounds a bend. It has a flat top and is crowned by two solitary trees which distinguishes it for those with a trained eye within the surrounding landscape.
On the foot of the hill which I missed on the production of this two part-er, is another small fortress and a solitary standing stone. There have been artifacts found on Pen Coed Foel which places the dating around the classic La Tene stage pottery period (500 to 1BC~) The period more commonly known as The Iron Age. All three Hillforts visited are within a mile or two of each other and dare I say must have been related to one another in some way. It is said that in the time of the post Roman period with incursions from the Anglo Saxons in the East and with from the west from the Irish, The Picts and a plethora of other Mediterranean privateers, that the former Romanized Britons (Prydeins)~ once again refortified these hillforts and formed new mini kingdoms in a time of transition culminating in remembered history merging mythological and Christian meanderings to create the fabulous tales of the Mabinogion, put to pen many years later.
Adding to the mystical and mythical atmosphere, we peacefully drift over sheep chomping like there is no tomorrow, blissfully unaware of the human history , both mythical and real just meters below their feet.
The link to the Atlas of Hillforts https://hillforts.arch.ox.ac.uk/ “Hen Castell” Hillfort WA2193 and “Pen Coed Y Foel Camp” Hillfort WA2302 , Craig Gwytheryn” Hillfort WA2192
“On this channel I will be sharing some of the fantastic hidden gems that inhabit one of the remotest and least populated areas of all England and Wales. I will be using my DJI Mini 2 drone to reveal fabulous birds eye views of some of these ancient Kingdoms historical and mythical Hillforts, Cairns, Stone Circles, Chambered Tombs, Standing Stones and other ancient artefacts.”
All music by Steve Spon.
