Location: from the A465, Abergavenny to Hereford road

• turn west at Llanfihangel Crucorney onto the B4423 (signposted Llanthony).
• you are crossing the terminal moraine of the “Welsh” glacier from the last Ice Age.
• travel c.2 miles to the Queens Head Inn on right
• on left there is a road/track (a carpark attached to the pub is next to this road/track on left)
• park and walk up the road/track, or you go up the road/track in the car (steep! but I have done this)
• where hedges end, walk left a few yards...there is the hillfort rampart, with entrance to the left.....

Grid reference: SO 990280 Postcode: NP7 7NE (this is the Queen's Head, Cwmyoy)

• The Iron Age dates from c.600 B.C. to the Roman invasion of 43 A.D. The people in this area were the Silures (Herefordshire area were the Dobunni). As farmers they needed defended sites to protect themselves and their animals, using surrounding fields to graze sheep and some cattle, for growing crops and the woods for pigs.
• Alan Probert excavated here 1965–1980 and found the ditches were cut into the underlying rock, very time consuming work that shows how necessary it was to have huge ramparts and ditches. Between the hillforts there were other farms but people could run to the hillforts when raiders came.
• Alan discovered flint tools, slag and crucibles to manufacture iron, and a spearhead. Quern stones showed cereals were made into flour, back–breaking work that took hours every day. Spindle whorls showed sheep wool was laboriously spun to make woven clothes. However, they also had brooches, glass beads, and pottery made near Malvern, so traders visited no doubt bringing news as well.
• Finally, in its last use, fewer buildings were needed, so another internal rampart was constructed to enclose a new farmhouse. Perhaps family members had moved away or died, but those left still needed protection for themselves and their animals and crop harvest. At least warfare, while fierce, was short. The lack of a reliable internal water supply meant no sieges. The Romans changed everything but they did not come here.
• When you look around, enjoying the glorious views, spare a thought for those Silurians who lived here for so long, and loved their home so much, that they cut into the rock with pickaxes to defend it.

The plan shows that this hillfort was, at first, half the present site (A+B) with a fenced annex (C). The inturned entrance is on the right of this plan. As the number of people increased, or more defence was needed, a proper rampart and ditch was built around the annex. Then, finally, the site became a small defended farm (A).

• See: “Iron Age Hillforts and Roman Site in Herefordshire” (Page 92)
• Also: “Forts tell tales of past farmers and fighters” (Absolute Herefordshire – September 2012)
• Further images of the hillfort can be viewed in the Gallery.