New Discoveries

Wales has a rich legacy of Iron Age hillforts – 764 in total – but, beyond the more famous sites, they are little known. Two and a half centuries after the hillforts were constructed, the seemingly random stone walls, mounds and ditches of hillforts that remain today can be hard to make sense of. And it is equally difficult to imagine what went into building the hillforts, and what they actually looked like when they were finished.

And… what were Iron Age hillforts for? Did they all have the same function? Did people live in them? And if so, who? And where did they live? What did they do? What possessions did they have?

The remaining traces of hillforts are hard to interpret when you are standing on the ground, but their shape becomes much clearer with aerial photography. Different patterns of hillfort can be observed, and it easier to see from the air how the geography of each site influenced what was built, and why.

Dr Toby Driver is coming to Meifod History Group on Thursday 20^th November to talk about the latest research and discoveries about Welsh hillforts – research that has shone a new light on what hillforts were all about, and what they may tell us about life in Wales before the Romans arrived.

His talk will touch on how hillforts were engineered and built, why prehistoric communities chose to live in fortified villages, and their way of life, religion and ritual.

Toby is an acknowledged expert on the prehistoric and Roman archaeology of Wales, and has written and broadcast widely on hillforts. He also works as aerial archaeologist for the Royal Commission, Wales. His latest book, The Hillforts of Iron Age Wales, was published in 2023, and he will bring copies for sale with him (£20).

The event is free to members of Meifod Local History Group, and costs £4 for non-members.