Dinorben

Dinorben is an Iron Age hillfort on a limestone crag above the Clwyd lowlands in Conwy County Borough. It overlooks the coastal plain south-east of Abergele and commands wide views over the surrounding countryside. The site was first occupied in the 9th or 8th century BCE and remained in use into Roman times. Early excavations between 1912 and 1922 showed traces of roundhouses and ramparts. The hillfort once covered just over two hectares of usable ground. Its steep slopes were terraced with at least 60 platforms, probably for roundhouses and storage. Rescue digs in the 1950s, 1960s and late 1970s revealed pottery, quern stones and iron slag, confirming continuous occupation. Archaeologists Hubert Savory and Willoughby Gardner published detailed reports that made Dinorben one of Wales’s best-known hillforts. Visitors walk up the grassy mound to the summit where the terraces are still visible. The remains lie within farmland and the stone quarry below has altered the skyline. Interpretive signs explain the platforms and the finds now kept in museums. From the top the Clwyd valley stretches away to the south-west.