Ffawyddog Gaer

Cadw's description

Summary description and reason for designation

The following provides a general description of the Scheduled Ancient Monument.

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). Ffawyddog Gawr is a roughly circular small hillfort measuring 100m NE/SW by 85m NW/SE enclosed by a single bank and ditch around most of its circumference. The defences are strongest on the S side, where the bank is 2.5m high and steep sided, while the ditch is 3m wide and 2m deep. The height of the bank gradually lowers towards the northern side of the site where is survives as a scarp 1.8m high. The ditch peters out towards the north, and there is no visible ditch along the northern side. There is a slight dip in the scarp in the NW corner which may be an entrance. The hillfort is situated on a pronounced downward slope of a hill but with a good command of the River Usk.

The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of later prehistoric defensive organisation and settlement. The site forms an important element within the wider later prehistoric context and within the surrounding landscape. The site is well preserved and retains considerable archaeological potential. There is a strong probability of the presence of evidence relating to chronology, building techniques and functional detail.

The scheduled area comprises the remains described and areas around them within which related evidence may be expected to survive.