1. CNWC Y BUGAIL, Trawsgoed. SN 6874 7400, NPRN 302038

Cnwc y Bugail hillfort is one of three small hillforts which occupy strong positions close to one another on hill spurs overlooking the central Ystwyth Valley, some 12 kms south-east of Aberystwyth. A narrow ridge to the south is occupied by the second, smaller and less elaborate Castell Disgwylfa (NPRN 303564; PRN 2004). A third fort was discovered on a nearby knoll by the author during RCAHMW aerial reconnaissance in 2005 (NPRN 403238). A new sketch survey aided by a hand-held GPS was completed in November 2003 (Driver 2004; 2005). It does not replace the need for a full metrical survey in the future, but allows newly recognised features described here to be recorded and better interpreted.

Description of the fort

The hillfort occupies a triangular knoll enclosing an area approximately 60m north-south by 70m east-west. Along the west side, no apparent artificial defences were required (apart perhaps from a palisade or fence) to supplement the steep scarp edge leading from the southern gateway to the north rampart. The northwest angle has been modified with the provision of a terrace below the rampart, perhaps to enhance the profile when seen from a distance. The north rampart sweeps around to the east-southeast, where, after a small break (c. 7m), the east rampart runs back southwest towards the gateway. The position of the main south gate is marked by a gap on the west side between the edge of the natural hillslope and some in-situ quartz walling of good sized blocks presumably lining a passage. Above and to the east and south east of this `passage? are further minor in-turns below the putative `command post?, also with quartz blocks in-situ although on a smaller scale.

Some 40m south of the gateway is a bastion comprising a `U? shaped defensible mound c.22m x 20m, probably formed from a pre-existing rocky knoll, of which others can be seen nearby. Its position some distance south of the gate forms an enclosed annex of the intervening ground. Its rear concavity has possibly been quarried away while its front (south) face preserves a smooth surface profile with at least two white quartz blocks in situ. Two or three other good-sized quartz blocks can be seen tumbled on the slopes below. In between the main fort and the bastion, on the east side and flanking the main approach from below, is an outwork 35m long scarped into the hillslope which further enhances and reinforces the path of approach.

A small water-rounded stone was found on the front (south west) face of the bastion (see Plate 11). Clearly out of its original geological context, this is probably a sling stone similar to those found at Pen Dinas, Aberystwyth, Pen Dinas (Elerch) and Pen Dinas Lochtyn, Llangrannog. (Browne and Driver 2001; Scott and Murphy 1992). It has been placed in the Ceredigion Museum.

Monumentality at Cnwc y Bugail

Cnwc y Bugail is a small hillfort presumably constructed with a limited workforce, yet we see evidence of considerable effort being expended to develop defences which appear to be strong and towering from afar, and which are augmented by complex, high status modifications such as the bastion and annex on the south side. The dynamics of the entrance approach dominate this small fort. Nearly a third (0.18 ha) of the entire fort (0.62 ha total) comprises the gateway and annex arrangements, rather than actual defended space for settlement, these features being additionally aggrandised with quartz. The bastion is an exotic feature usually employed at the larger hillforts in the region (Castell Grogwynion; Pen Dinas, Elerch) and not at the smaller forts. The conspicuous use of quartz walling both in the outer bastion face and the main inner gateway is a bold gesture which can now be paralleled with the gateway of Darren hillfort (NPRN 303592) following Early Mines Research Group excavations in 2005. Further detailed discussion on both hillforts, and their regional contexts, are discussed in the unpublished survey reports and final thesis (Driver 2002; 2004; 2005)

T. Driver, RCAHMW, 2005.

2. Description and reconstruction drawings featured in Driver, T. 2016. The Hillforts of Cardigan Bay. Logaston Press.