Clegyr Boia

This small hill with its rugged outcrops of rock is a notable landmark to the west of St Davids. It is a natural defensive site, and excavations have uncovered the remains of two slight shelters set against the natural slope near the top of the hill.

Also found on the site were polished stone axes and pottery sherds which show that it was occupied in the Neolithic times.

At some stage the natural defences were augmented by earth ramparts, which incorporated many of the rocky outcrops and created a rectangular enclosure 85m long by nearly 30m wide. This work is thought to have been carried out during the Iron Age, although no artefacts have been discovered to confirm this.

The name Clegyr Boia refers to an Irish chieftain named Boia who, according to legend, was ruler of this area in the 6th century AD. He unsuccessfully opposed David when the future saint first established his religious community in the valley below, but was later killed by a rival chieftain.