Dinas Dinlle

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Dinas Dinlle
Caernarfonshire
Dinas Dinlle - geograph.org.uk - 38168.jpg
Dinas Dinlle Hillfort
Location
Location: 53°5’10"N, 4°20’11"W
Data
Post town: Caernarfon
Postcode: LL54
Dialling code: 01286
Local Government

Dinas Dinlle is a small village in Caernarfonshire, on the coast of Caernarfon Bay.

Dinas Dinlle has a large sand and pebble beach with vast areas of sand from mid-tide level. The foreshore consists of natural pebble banks. The popular beach offers views towards the Lleyn Peninsula and towards Llanddwyn Island off Anglesey. The area is a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).

Hill fort

The cliff above the beach is known as Boncan Dinas and is occupied by an Iron Age hill fort also known as Dinas Dinlle. This fort has been eroded by the sea, such that only a double semi-circular rampart remains.

Finds of Roman pottery indicate a reoccupation in the 2nd or 3rd centuries.[1] The fort is about 164 yards from north to south by 120 yards with an entrance on the south west. It is possible that a Roman lighthouse originally stood here.[2] It is possible to make out small depressions which are thought to indicate the sites of Iron Age huts and the mound may be the remains of a barrow.[3]

About the village

A small airport, Caernarfon Airport, is nearby. During the Second World War this was an RAF base but now it is mainly used for flying lessons and pleasure flights. A caravan park is located nearby.

The erosion by the sea is a substantial problem. A groyne built in 1994 to alleviate the problem was thought to be a mistake that had made the situation worse by 2013. The height of the groyne was to be reduced and the large boulders removed. This was important to preserve the beach and the Wales Coast Path.[4]

Gallery

Outside links

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("Wikimedia Commons" has material
about Dinas Dinlle)

References

  1. "Aerial photograph of Dinas Dinlle Iron Age hillfort". Gathering The Jewels. http://www.gtj.org.uk/en/item1/1234. Retrieved 18 September 2006. 
  2. Royal Commission of the Ancient and Historical Monuments in Wales Dinas Dinlle (site 95309) accessed March 2013
  3. Megalithic Portal Dinas Dinlle, accessed 8 March 2013
  4. Dinas Dinlle beach erosion plan unveiled, BBC News, February 2013, accessed 8 March 2013