Scheduled MonumentsWalesFive Round Barrows on Garth Hill
Prehistoric · Round Barrow

Five Round Barrows on Garth Hill

Wales
Cadw SAM GM107
Period
Prehistoric
Site type
Round Barrow
Broad class
Religious, Ritual and Funerary
Nation
Wales
Boundary

Scheduled area

© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Cadw

Overview

History & significance

Five Round Barrows on Garth Hill is a prehistoric round barrow cemetery situated in Wales. The monument comprises five earthen mounds constructed during the Bronze Age, a period when such burial structures dominated the upland landscape. As a group barrow site, it represents a significant burial focus that would have served a local community or succession of communities over several centuries.

The barrows are located on geology formed during the Carboniferous period, resting on the South Wales Upper Coal Measures Formation. This bedrock of mudstone, siltstone, sandstone, coal, ironstone and ferricrete would have influenced both the construction of the mounds and the settlement patterns of Bronze Age communities in the area. The upland setting of Garth Hill reflects the typical location of such monuments, often positioned on prominent ground where they would remain visible across the surrounding terrain.

The site is protected and scheduled by Cadw, the Welsh heritage authority, under reference GM107. This formal protection recognises the archaeological significance of the barrow group and ensures the preservation of any buried deposits and structural features that may survive beneath the earthworks. The cemetery remains an important surviving monument to Bronze Age funerary practice in South Wales.

Five Round Barrows on Garth Hill is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference GM107. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Five Round Barrows on Garth Hill?

Five Round Barrows on Garth Hill is a prehistoric round barrow cemetery situated in Wales. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Cadw under reference GM107.

What period does Five Round Barrows on Garth Hill date from?

Five Round Barrows on Garth Hill dates from the prehistoric period, and is classified as a round barrow. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.

Who is responsible for protecting Five Round Barrows on Garth Hill?

Five Round Barrows on Garth Hill 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 GM107.

What other scheduled monuments are near Five Round Barrows on Garth Hill?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Remains of Peterston Castle (7.3 km), Old Bishop's Palace, Llandaff (7.6 km), Two Cooking Mounds E of Ty'n-y-Pwll (8.5 km).

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Everything a full report reveals about Five Round Barrows on Garth Hill

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Five Round Barrows on Garth Hill'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 Five Round Barrows on Garth Hill

Five Round Barrows on Garth Hill stands on South Wales Upper Coal Measures Formation, bedrock that formed in the Westphalian. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone, sandstone, coal, ironstone and ferricrete.

The wider landscape

Around Five Round Barrows on Garth Hill

Caerphilly CastleArchaeological site · ~4 milesCaerwentRoman town · ~23.1 miles