
Image Credit: Natural Resources Wales
Image Credit: Natural Resources Wales
Keeping an eye on the neighbours – the prominent Moel y Gest is the nearest substantial Iron Age site to the east.
Looking down on the northern rampart from the Welsh castle.
Almost sheer cliffs defend the western end of the promontory. The massive Iron Age fort at Carn Fadrun can be seen on the horizon.
The earthwork on the north side of the site, which may be a reused Iron Age rampart.
The castle sits on a massive rocky hill that would be a classic site for an Iron Age fort or defended enclosure.
Information from the Gwynedd Archaeological Trust RHER:
It [Criccieth Castle] stands within an enclosure formed by the cliffs to the south and an earthen bank to the north which has the appearance of an Iron Age hillfort.
An urn discovered behind the cottage of the Castle custodian might suggest an Iron Age site. The find occurred at a depth of 2.6m behind the cottage of the Criccieth Castle custodian, and it is suggested that the bank under which it lay is a remnant of an Iron Age earthwork.
The rocky outcrop to the northwest of the castle is called Dinas, although there’s no record of any site or finds there.