Prehistoric · Hillfort

Gaer Fawr

Ceredigion, Wales
Cadw SAM CD050
Period
Prehistoric
Site type
Hillfort
Broad class
Defence
Nation
Wales
The designation
Reference
Cadw SAM CD050
Authority
Cadw
Designated
1948-10-07
Boundary

Scheduled area

© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Cadw

Overview

History & significance

Gaer Fawr is a prehistoric hillfort situated in Ceredigion, Wales, designated as a Scheduled Ancient Monument under Cadw reference CD050. The site comprises a fortified enclosure characterised by substantial defensive earthworks, typical of Iron Age hillforts constructed across Wales and the broader British Isles. Dating to the Iron Age period, Gaer Fawr represents the settlement and defensive strategies employed by prehistoric communities in the region, with its physical remains demonstrating the engineering capabilities and territorial concerns of its builders. The monument's prominent topographical position reflects the strategic importance hillforts held as centres of control, habitation, and refuge during the pre-Roman Iron Age.

Gaer Fawr is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference CD050. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Gaer Fawr?

Gaer Fawr is a prehistoric hillfort situated in Ceredigion, Wales, designated as a Scheduled Ancient Monument under Cadw reference CD050.

What period does Gaer Fawr date from?

Gaer Fawr 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 Gaer Fawr?

Gaer Fawr 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 CD050.

What other scheduled monuments are near Gaer Fawr?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Pantcamddwr Ring Cairn (3.8 km), Ty'n-yr-Eithin Round Cairn (3.8 km), Hafod Ithel Deserted Rural Settlement (5.1 km).

Unlimited access

Everything a full report reveals about Gaer Fawr

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Gaer Fawr'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.
First month just £4.99, then £9.99 a month. Unlimited locations, cancel anytime.

Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.

Start your Gaer Fawr report
Or see a real report first
The ground beneath

The bedrock under Gaer Fawr

Gaer Fawr stands on Llandovery Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Llandovery. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.