The Dinas Powys area has been populated since prehistoric times.
The most ancient artifact found in the area is a Neolithic Stone Age axe-head, discovered by P. W. Brooks in 1949 and now displayed in the National Museum Cardiff.
The hillfort was, in its time, considered to have great status and wealth.
Indeed, in the age of Celtic Christianity, it is known that the residents of Dinas Powys had use of day to day objects from Bordeaux, Athens and Alexandria and, to this day, it remains one of the wealthiest parts of Wales.

The village features substantial remains of a Norman castle and the adjacent Cwm George was the site of the celtic hill fort from which the village takes its name.
The hill fort site was excavated by Leslie Alcock of University College, Cardiff between 1954 and 1958 and was found to contain evidence of major wooden structures and a large quantity of high-status metalwork and jewellery.
There were also glass items and imported pottery dating from the sub-Roman period of between the 5th and 7th centuries.
The castle was originally the seat of a Norman noble called Baron de Sumeri or Sumery, but the structure went into decline around 1322 when the de Sumeri male family line came to an end.

According to the historian John Davies, the name Dinas Powys (and its earlier spelling 'Dinas Powis') is derived from the Latin "Dinas Pagus" — meaning "city of pagans" [This is incorrect, of course.
A 'pagus' was a Late Roman local regional description, the equivalent of a modern district council in Britain, and the kingdom of Powys derived its name from this, pagenses, '(land of the) country dwellers' or 'people of the pagi'.
The root for Dinas Powys is the same, and means fort (dinas) of the country dwellers or the people] .

In the 11th century Dinas Powis was under the control of Sir Reginald de Sully, one of the Twelve Knights of Glamorgan.
In 1591, Sir Edward Mansel of Margam wrote his historical document recording The winning of Glamorgan and recorded:
To Sir Reginald de Sully he (Sir Robert Fitz Haymon) gave the castle and town to be called Sully with the Manor of it, and the Manors of St Andrews and Dinas Powys for his Granary and provisions.
This Sir Reginald bestowed much land in fee frankliege to his men and came to be a man of wealth and fame.
He had at Sully besides his Castle a fair Manor house built after a new manner, where he did live the most of his time, which house as well as the Castle was broke down by Owain Glendowr
Later in The winning of Glamorgan Mansel records:
The Lordship of Llantwit is described as so fertile that as Glamorgan was called the Garden of Wales was this Lordship called the Garden of Glamorgan ... and it is the flower of all the Country ... and it was very full of goodly villages and Courtly houses, most of them still in remaining.
The Lord had in this Lordship a noble Castle at Dinas Powys and one at Barry, with his Court house of Llantwit and Grange house of Boverton, so that in the whole it is a most Goodly Country.

Dinas Powis was included in the original medieval Welsh political sub-division called the Cantref Brenhinol (The Royal Hundred) which later became the commote known as the Hundred of Dinas Powis, which also encompassed St Andrews Major, Michaelston-le-Pit, Westra, Penarth, Cogan, Sully, Lavernock and Llandough.
The Dinas Powys area has been populated since prehistoric times. The most ancient artifact found in the area is a Neolithic Stone Age axe-head, discovered by P. W. Brooks in 1949 and now displayed in the National Museum Cardiff. The hillfort was, in its time, considered to have great status and wealth. Indeed, in the age of Celtic Christianity, it is known that the residents of Dinas Powys had use of day to day objects from Bordeaux, Athens and Alexandria and, to this day, it remains one of the wealthiest parts of Wales.
The village features substantial remains of a Norman castle and the adjacent Cwm George was the site of the celtic hill fort from which the village takes its name. The hill fort site was excavated by Leslie Alcock of University College, Cardiff between 1954 and 1958 and was found to contain evidence of major wooden structures and a large quantity of high-status metalwork and jewellery. There were also glass items and imported pottery dating from the sub-Roman period of between the 5th and 7th centuries. The castle was originally the seat of a Norman noble called Baron de Sumeri or Sumery, but the structure went into decline around 1322 when the de Sumeri male family line came to an end.
According to the historian John Davies, the name Dinas Powys (and its earlier spelling 'Dinas Powis') is derived from the Latin "Dinas Pagus" — meaning "city of pagans" [This is incorrect, of course. A 'pagus' was a Late Roman local regional description, the equivalent of a modern district council in Britain, and the kingdom of Powys derived its name from this, pagenses, '(land of the) country dwellers' or 'people of the pagi'. The root for Dinas Powys is the same, and means fort (dinas) of the country dwellers or the people] .
In the 11th century Dinas Powis was under the control of Sir Reginald de Sully, one of the Twelve Knights of Glamorgan. In 1591, Sir Edward Mansel of Margam wrote his historical document recording The winning of Glamorgan and recorded:
To Sir Reginald de Sully he (Sir Robert Fitz Haymon) gave the castle and town to be called Sully with the Manor of it, and the Manors of St Andrews and Dinas Powys for his Granary and provisions. This Sir Reginald bestowed much land in fee frankliege to his men and came to be a man of wealth and fame. He had at Sully besides his Castle a fair Manor house built after a new manner, where he did live the most of his time, which house as well as the Castle was broke down by Owain Glendowr
Later in The winning of Glamorgan Mansel records:
The Lordship of Llantwit is described as so fertile that as Glamorgan was called the Garden of Wales was this Lordship called the Garden of Glamorgan ... and it is the flower of all the Country ... and it was very full of goodly villages and Courtly houses, most of them still in remaining. The Lord had in this Lordship a noble Castle at Dinas Powys and one at Barry, with his Court house of Llantwit and Grange house of Boverton, so that in the whole it is a most Goodly Country.
Dinas Powis was included in the original medieval Welsh political sub-division called the Cantref Brenhinol (The Royal Hundred) which later became the commote known as the Hundred of Dinas Powis, which also encompassed St Andrews Major, Michaelston-le-Pit, Westra, Penarth, Cogan, Sully, Lavernock and Llandough.
Dinas Powys