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Gaer Fawr is a prehistoric hillfort located in Wales and protected as an ancient monument by Cadw under reference MG006. The site occupies bedrock of Caradoc Rocks, an undifferentiated sequence of mudstone, siltstone and sandstone formed during the Caradocian period. This solid geological foundation would have provided a stable base for the defensive earthworks that characterise the monument.
Gaer Fawr follows the typical form of Iron Age hillforts built across Britain and Wales, with fortifications positioned to command the surrounding landscape. The varied sedimentary geology underlying the site—composed of the durable mudstone and siltstone layers—would have influenced both the construction of ramparts and ditches and the availability of materials for building. The exposed sandstone outcrops common in such Caradocian formations may have been incorporated into the fort's defensive structures.
As a scheduled ancient monument, Gaer Fawr represents an important survival of Wales's Iron Age defensive architecture. The site's protection reflects its significance to understanding prehistoric settlement patterns and territorial organisation in this region. The hillfort's position on this particular geological substrate offers evidence of how Iron Age communities selected and adapted naturally defensible locations according to the landscape available to them.
Gaer Fawr is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference MG006. View the official record →
Gaer Fawr is a prehistoric hillfort located in Wales and protected as an ancient monument by Cadw under reference MG006.
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.
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 MG006.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Offa's Dyke: Pentre Section (7.5 km), Powis Castle Park Mound (7.6 km), Cursus, Llwyn-Wron (revealed by aerial photography) (8.3 km).
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:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Gaer Fawr stands on Caradoc Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Caradocian. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.