Moel y Gaer, Llanbedr
| Moel-y-Gaer Camp | |
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View of Moel y Gaer from the south
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| Type | hillfort |
| Location | Denbighshire, Wales |
| Coordinates | 53°08′46″N 3°16′28″W / 53.1461°N 3.2744°WCoordinates: 53°08′46″N 3°16′28″W / 53.1461°N 3.2744°W |
| OS grid reference | SJ 1490 6175 |
| Elevation | 320 metres (1,050 ft) |
| Official name: Moel-y-Gaer Camp | |
| Reference no. | DE010 |
| Community | Llanbedr-Dyffryn-Clwyd |
| Principal area | Denbighshire |
 Location in Denbighshire
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Moel y Gaer (Welsh for "bald hill of the fortress"), also known as Moel-y-Gaer Camp or Moel y Gaer Hillfort, is an Iron Age hillfort located on a western spur of the Clwydian Range, near the village of Llanbedr, Denbighshire, Wales. The site is a scheduled monument, classified as a prehistoric defensive hillfort.
The hillfort is one of a chain of six hillforts in the Clwydian Range, which are, from north to south, Moel Hiraddug, Moel y Gaer Bodfari, Penycloddiau, Moel Arthur, Moel y Gaer Llanbedr, and Moel Fenlli.
Moel y Gaer hillfort is surrounded by steep slopes to the north, west, and south. To the east the approach is almost level and is where the main entrance is sited. There is also a non-functional entrance to the west. Most of the fort is surrounded by a double bank and ditch, with additional banks to the northeast, near the entrance, across the ridge connecting the hill to the higher ground leading to Moel Famau.
The hillfort is approximately oval, measuring about 200 metres (660 ft) north-south by 180 metres (590 ft) west-east. The main enclosure is a rounded triangle with an area of 2.63 hectares (6.5 acres), with an annex to the north of 0.26 hectares (0.64 acres), giving a total area of 2.89 hectares (7.1 acres).
At a height of 320 metres (1,050 ft) up to 345 metres (1,132 ft) Moel y Gaer is much lower than the other hillforts in the chain and is also unusual in that it is not sited on the ridge of the range. However, it is in a commanding position over the Vale of Clwyd.
The site has suffered from some agricultural damage in the 1980s and also some damage from sheep and rabbit warrens.
The hillfort was investigated in 1849 by W. Wynne-Ffoulkes. He dug a number of small trenches and concluded that the eastern entrance had been paved and that the inner rampart was built of stone or fronted with stone. He also found an area with large amounts of highly burnt stone. Various artefacts discovered at the site have since been lost.
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Wikipedia