Scheduled MonumentsWalesHen Gaer Hilltop Enclosure
Prehistoric · Hillfort

Hen Gaer Hilltop Enclosure

Ceredigion, Wales
Cadw SAM CD026
Period
Prehistoric
Site type
Hillfort
Broad class
Defence
Nation
Wales
Boundary

Scheduled area

© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Cadw

Overview

History & significance

Hen Gaer Hilltop Enclosure is a prehistoric hillfort situated in Ceredigion, Wales, and designated as a Scheduled Ancient Monument under Cadw reference CD026. The monument comprises a substantial defensive earthwork comprising a single or multiple ramparts enclosing the hilltop, characteristic of Iron Age fortification practices in Wales, though the site may have origins in the Bronze Age or earlier periods. The enclosure would have served both defensive and administrative functions, commanding views across the surrounding landscape and providing a secure settlement or gathering place for the local community. The earthworks remain substantially visible in the modern landscape, preserving evidence of prehistoric settlement patterns and territorial organisation in the Ceredigion region.

Hen Gaer Hilltop Enclosure is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference CD026. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Hen Gaer Hilltop Enclosure?

Hen Gaer Hilltop Enclosure is a prehistoric hillfort situated in Ceredigion, Wales, and designated as a Scheduled Ancient Monument under Cadw reference CD026.

What period does Hen Gaer Hilltop Enclosure date from?

Hen Gaer Hilltop Enclosure 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 Hen Gaer Hilltop Enclosure?

Hen Gaer Hilltop Enclosure 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 CD026.

What other scheduled monuments are near Hen Gaer Hilltop Enclosure?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Old Warren Hill Hillfort (6 km), Pen Dinas Camp (6.2 km), Aberystwyth Harbour Defences (6.4 km).

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Everything a full report reveals about Hen Gaer Hilltop Enclosure

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Hen Gaer Hilltop Enclosure'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 Hen Gaer Hilltop Enclosure

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