Penycloddiau

Penycloddiau
Penycloddiau hill fort
Highest point
Elevation	440 m (1,440 ft)[1]
Prominence	156 m (512 ft)
Parent peak	Moel Famau
Listing	Marilyn
Naming
English translation	hill of the trenches
Language of name	Welsh
Pronunciation	Welsh: [pɛnəˈklɔðjai]
Geography
Location	Flintshire, Wales
Parent range	Clwydian Range
OS grid	SJ127678[1]
Topo map	OS Landranger 116[1]

Penycloddiau is a hill in Flintshire, Wales, and one of five Marilyns in the Clwydian Range.

The hill, like Foel Fenlli and Moel Arthur to the south, has an Iron Age hillfort at its summit.[2] It covers 26 hectares (64 acres) making it one of the largest hillforts in Wales.[2] In 2017, excavations by the Clywdian Range Archaeology Group (CRAG) unearthed a significant number of 4,000-year-old stone tools from the Bronze Age, the discovery indicates human activity occurred much earlier than first thought in the area.[3]

Penycloddiau is crossed by the Offa's Dyke Path and the Clwydian Way, two long distance footpaths that traverse the hills in this area. A free car park exists at the bwlch between Penycloddiau and Moel Arthur, where two footpaths lead to the summit.[4]

Gallery

• 
  A view of the outer defence wall at Penycloddiau hill fort
• 
  The Offa's Dyke Path climbs Penycloddiau from the east

See also

• List of hillforts in Wales

References

1. Alan Dawson (1992). Relative Hills of Britain. Cicerone Series. Cicerone Press Limited. p. 125. ISBN 978-1-85284-068-6.
2. John Davies; Nigel Jenkins; Menna Baines, eds. (2008). The Welsh Academy encyclopaedia of Wales. University of Wales Press. pp. 151, 981. ISBN 978-0-7083-1953-6.
3. "Bronze Age tools unearthed in Clwydian range hillforts dig". BBC News. 7 September 2017.
4. "Penycloddiau". Sustainable Days Out. Retrieved 19 January 2020.

Further reading

• Ian Brown; Mick Sharp & Jean Williamson (2004). "Penycloddiau Iron Age hillfort". Discovering a Welsh landscape: archaeology in the Clwydian range. Landscapes of Britain. Vol. 4. Windgather. pp. 75–76.
• "Penycloddiau Hillfort". Heather & Hillforts. Archived from the original on 20 April 2013. Retrieved 31 August 2010.
• "Penycloddiau Hillfort — Dig In Deeper". Heather & Hillforts.
• "Soldier's Stone, Penycloddiau hillfort". A History of the World. BBC.
• Christopher John Wright (1975). "Moel Arthur and Penycloddiau". A guide to Offa's Dyke path. Constable. pp. 321–323. ISBN 978-0-09-460330-1.

External links

• www.geograph.co.uk : photos of Penycloddiau and surrounding area

53.20008°N 3.30834°W / 53.20008; -3.30834