Scheduled MonumentsWalesCwm Bach Camps
Prehistoric · Hillfort

Cwm Bach Camps

Wales
Cadw SAM GM186
Period
Prehistoric
Site type
Hillfort
Broad class
Defence
Nation
Wales
The designation
Reference
Cadw SAM GM186
Authority
Cadw
Designated
1949-06-02
Boundary

Scheduled area

© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Cadw

Overview

History & significance

Cwm Bach Camps is a prehistoric hillfort situated in Wales, occupying a naturally defensible position on slopes developed across Silurian sedimentary bedrock. The underlying Paleozoic strata, laid down in ancient marine environments hundreds of millions of years before the hillfort's construction, provide the geological foundation of this Iron Age settlement.

The site's location on Silurian rocks reflects its builders' practical understanding of the landscape. The naturally occurring outcrops and stable ground characteristic of this sedimentary geology would have offered advantages for settlement and defence. The topography created by the bedrock geology shapes the hillfort's layout and the lines of its earthwork defences.

Cwm Bach Camps is protected as a scheduled monument under Cadw, the Welsh heritage agency, under reference GM186. This designation recognises its significance as evidence of Iron Age settlement patterns and social organisation in Wales. The hillfort remains an important archaeological record of prehistoric land use and construction techniques adapted to the Welsh upland environment.

Cwm Bach Camps is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference GM186. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Cwm Bach Camps?

Cwm Bach Camps is a prehistoric hillfort situated in Wales, occupying a naturally defensible position on slopes developed across Silurian sedimentary bedrock. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Cadw under reference GM186.

What period does Cwm Bach Camps date from?

Cwm Bach Camps 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 Cwm Bach Camps?

Cwm Bach Camps 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 GM186.

What other scheduled monuments are near Cwm Bach Camps?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Cwm Nash Defended Enclosure (1.5 km), Round Barrows NE of Church Farm (2.5 km), Nash Point Round Barrows (2.8 km).

Unlimited access

Everything a full report reveals about Cwm Bach Camps

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Cwm Bach Camps'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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Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.

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The ground beneath

The bedrock under Cwm Bach Camps

Cwm Bach Camps stands on Paleozoic sedimentary rocks, bedrock that formed in the Silurian. The rock here is sedimentary rocks.

The wider landscape

Around Cwm Bach Camps

Caerphilly CastleArchaeological site · ~18.6 miles