Nash Point Old Castle
Has been described as a Rejected Timber Castle (Ringwork)
There are earthwork remains
| Name | Nash Point Old Castle |
| Alternative Names | Nash Point Camp |
| Historic Country | Glamorgan |
| Modern Authority | Vale of Glamorgan |
| 1974 Authority | South Glamorgan |
| Community | St Donats |
Iron Age Promontory Fort An enclosure, c.190m N-S, placed on what is now a constricted promontory between Cwm Marcroes on the E and eroding sea cliffs on the W. There are four N-facing banks and ditches, utilizing a small E-W defile that isolates the promontory, whilst on the E are traces of a single bank. A pillow mound lies within the enclosure, which is at most c.36m across. (Coflein–J.Wiles 18.12.2002)
The monument comprises the remains of a hillfort, which probably dates to the Iron Age period (c. 800 BC - AD 74, the Roman conquest of Wales). Hillforts are usually located on hilltops and surrounded by a single or multiple earthworks of massive proportions. Hillforts must have formed symbols of power within the landscape, while their function may have had as much to do with ostentation and display as defence. Due to coastal erosion, only a small part of this hillfort remains. A narrow tongue of the promontory at Nash Point now survives with a precipitous cliff on the seaward side and a steep bank down to the Marcross valley on the other. This area was turned into a fort by constructing banks and ditches across its now narrow neck. The main defences consist of four parallel banks set close together. The three inner ones are steep-sided, with ditches between them. A crouched burial was found in the lower filling of the innermost ditch. The outer bank, to the north of a small gully, is much longer and gentler. It cuts off the peninsula and guards the approach, which was up the gully and along a narrow shoulder southwards to the entrance on the east side of the three inner banks. The innermost bank curves inwards next to it, making it half an inturned entrance. (Scheduling Report)
This site is a scheduled monument protected by law
Not Listed
The National Monument Record (Coflein) number(s)
County Historic Environment Record
| OS Map Grid Reference | SS914684 |
| Latitude | 51.4044418334961 |
| Longitude | -3.5613100528717 |
| Eastings | 291480 |
| Northings | 168480 |
