Caer Allt-Goch Hillfort

Cadw's description

Summary description and reason for designation

The following provides a general description of the Scheduled 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). 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. Caer Allt-goch is a well preserved defensive sited hillfort which occupies the entire top of a raised promontory overlooking the Afon Leri. Relatively steep slopes on three sides are supported by a 1m high bank with an external ditch which extends along the north-eastern side. Within the approximately oval shaped interior of the hillfort there are visible remains of at least six circular house platforms, varying in size from 5 to 8m in diameter.

The site has particular archaeological importance because of its good state of preservation and the visible presence of circular hut platforms within the fort interior. 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 preserved internal and external floor levels and surviving buried archaeological features as well as 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.