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Image of Carn Alw (Hillfort) by Steve-Nostrami

What a fascinating Hillfort this is!
I visited the site earlier in the fine weather this week and flew around it with my UAV taking some video and pictures. There is a wide scatter of seemingly random rocks and stones as I walked up to the craggy outcrop. I noticed the ‘road’ leading to the entrance and the amazing boulder on the triangular levelled out platform that was formerly walled but that of course is now tumbled. When looking back at my footage, everywhere I looked it seems in the chaos that humans or maybe ‘giants’ or perhaps the Flintsones have messed with the seemingly random stones, placing them into either enclosure aprons or ‘chevaux-de-frise’ patterns around the southern and western approaches.
The Preseli landscape is truly magical with the major Foel Y Drygarn Hillfort with its three bronze age cairns just over a mile to the east and Mynydd Carningli with its rocky tumbled hillfort dominant to the west. Beyond that Carn Ffoi lies further west above Newport and even further still are the Strumble Head hillforts.
I believe most of these share certain distinctive attributes and I wonder whether or not they are all really ‘Iron Age’ or perhaps date to a much earlier period. Several nearby Dolmen seem to reflect some of these hillfort landmarks. From my aerial footage of Carn Alw I would say the great boulder on the northern end of the platform is definitely the focus of this ‘Hillfort’. Sitting in its own depression it reminds me of Careg Y Bwci behind Cellan.

Image credit: Steve-Nostrami Dronescaping Britain

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Carn Alw
Hillfort

This is a place I have never been to, and it looks like no one else has either. Its another Chevaux de Frise, though not the same as the ‘Bryn Cader Faner’ cairn which is so striking.

According to N.P.Figgis (Prehistoric Preseli) the method employed in building these treacherous out pointing stones might have been the result of an itinerant architect, be that as it may Castell Henllys, which is close to Carn Alw, has similar defence methods in its ditch, now covered by a later bank.

Carn Alw though situated at the back of Carn Meini if my map reading skills are right, is defended by “a wide chevaux de frise, incorporating set and naturally grounded stones in roughly three bands” on the easily accessible south-east side.”

Figgis goes on to speculate as to whether the elaborate entrance and boulder lined lane with a kink in its length has something to do with a stock enclosure, either for bulls or ponies, as the area defended is very small. Wild ponies still graze these moors, and they are very like the small ponies depicted on Iron Age coins......

Sites within 20km of Carn Alw