Archaeologists are working to uncover the secrets of a Roman hillfort near Caernarfon in north Wales. The coastal hillfort is in danger of being totally eroded by the sea.
The fort is believed to date back about 2,500 years, and coins found at the site evidence that it was also occupied in the Roman period. Early maps of the fort and the curve of its remaining defenses show that it was once completely enclosed, but a section of its western perimeter has fallen into the Irish Sea due to thousands of years of erosion.
Before the structure is further eroded, researchers are seeking to find out and record all they can about the historic site. Archaeologists from the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales (RCAHMW) are using aerial photography to create a 3-D model of the fort, and have conducted comprehensive surveys of the grounds around it.
‘Through our work, we hope to gain a better understanding of when Dinas Dinlle was built and occupied, and how much has been lost to the sea,’ explained the RCAHMW archaeologist Louise Barker.
This news article appears in issue 109 of Military History Matters. To find out more about subscribing to the magazine, click here.
