Pen-y-Gaer Camp

Cadw's description

Summary description and reason for designation

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. Pen-y-Gaer Camp is a univallate hillfort, occupying a hill top with additional strong natural defences to the south in the form of steep slopes. The ramparts in the south, below the steep slopes, have been reduced by ploughing, but the defences remain clear along the north, east and west. The site is sub-elliptical in shape, measuring 200m NE-SW x 90m. There is a probable entrance in the NE with a possible inner rampart at this point. An additional entrance may have existed in the SW.

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.