Scheduled MonumentsWalesChapel Hill Camp
Prehistoric · Hillfort

Chapel Hill Camp

Wales
Cadw SAM GM248
Period
Prehistoric
Site type
Hillfort
Broad class
Defence
Nation
Wales
The designation
Reference
Cadw SAM GM248
Authority
Cadw
Designated
1956-07-04
Boundary

Scheduled area

© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Cadw

Overview

History & significance

Chapel Hill Camp is a prehistoric hillfort situated in Wales and protected as a scheduled ancient monument by Cadw under reference GM248. The site occupies a naturally defensible hilltop position underlain by bedrock of the Lias Group, a sequence of mudstone, siltstone, limestone and sandstone deposits laid down during the Aalenian period of the early Jurassic.

Like other hillforts of the British Iron Age, the monument would have served both defensive and administrative functions for the community that constructed and occupied it. The substantial earthworks characteristic of such sites—typically comprising one or more banks and ditches—exploited the elevated terrain to command views across the surrounding landscape and create obstacles to unauthorised approach.

The geological foundation of Chapel Hill Camp, composed of relatively soft Jurassic sediments, would have presented specific challenges and opportunities for the Iron Age engineers who built the fort. The local geology influenced both the construction methods available and the drainage properties of the site, factors that shaped how the settlement developed and functioned within its landscape.

Chapel Hill Camp is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference GM248. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Chapel Hill Camp?

Chapel Hill Camp is a prehistoric hillfort situated in Wales and protected as a scheduled ancient monument by Cadw under reference GM248.

What period does Chapel Hill Camp date from?

Chapel Hill Camp dates from the prehistoric period, and is classified as a hillfort. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.

Who is responsible for protecting Chapel Hill Camp?

Chapel Hill Camp is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Cadw — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in Wales. The official designation reference is GM248.

What other scheduled monuments are near Chapel Hill Camp?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Cwm Bach Camps (6.6 km), Buarth-Mawr Barn (6.8 km), Cwm Nash Defended Enclosure (7.9 km).

Unlimited access

Everything a full report reveals about Chapel Hill Camp

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Chapel Hill Camp's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:

Overview
An interactive map of the location with every monument and battle plotted, and a plain-language history built only from what the record holds.
Monuments
The legally protected scheduled monuments around the location, each with its period, type and significance.
Battlefields
The battles and sieges fought on this ground, mapped and set on a timeline of the wider conflict.
Roman Britain
The Roman roads, forts and towns near here, and the Iron Age people who held the land before Rome arrived.
Civil War
The Civil War fighting, garrisons and recorded militaria in this area, woven into the arc of 1642 to 1651.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back hundreds of millions of years.
Local Names
What the street and field names around here actually mean, and the history buried inside them.
Historical Maps
Ordnance Survey maps from the 1800s, layered over the location as it stands today.
Literature
The books, county histories, charters and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.
Legal
The protected sites nearby and the metal-detecting, access and treasure laws that apply to this ground.
Spotlight
A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.
Target Zones
For detectorists: the most promising ground to search nearby, ranked by confidence, with what to expect.
Timeline
The whole story of the location told era by era, from prehistory to the present day.
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The ground beneath

The bedrock under Chapel Hill Camp

Chapel Hill Camp stands on Lias Group, bedrock that formed in the Aalenian. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone, limestone and sandstone.

The wider landscape

Around Chapel Hill Camp

Caerphilly CastleArchaeological site · ~17.4 miles