© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Cadw
Old Castle Camp is a prehistoric promontory fort situated on the Welsh coast, built to exploit natural defensive advantages offered by its headland location. The fort occupies a position where Early Carboniferous limestone bedrock, formed over 300 million years ago, rises prominently above the surrounding landscape. This hard limestone, interbedded with softer claystone and siltstone, creates steep natural cliffs and scarps that would have provided formidable protection on the seaward and most exposed sides of the promontory.
The fort's construction took advantage of this dramatic topography, with artificial earthworks likely concentrated on the more vulnerable inland approaches where the bedrock slopes more gently. Promontory forts of this type typically date to the later prehistoric period, when such headland sites served as defended settlements, refuges or focal points for communities. The rocky coastal setting would have provided access to marine resources and natural harbours whilst the defensive position offered security.
The monument is protected by Cadw, the Welsh heritage body, as a site of archaeological and historical significance. Its survival in the protected landscape of the Welsh coast preserves an important record of prehistoric settlement strategies and the relationship between early Welsh communities and their environment. The underlying geology remains a key element in understanding why this particular location was chosen and how it shaped the fort's defensive design.
Old Castle Camp is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference GM193. View the official record →
Old Castle Camp is a prehistoric promontory fort situated on the Welsh coast, built to exploit natural defensive advantages offered by its headland location. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Cadw under reference GM193.
Old Castle Camp dates from the prehistoric period, and is classified as a promontory fort - coastal. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Old Castle Camp 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 GM193.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Lewes Castle Promontory Fort (0.9 km), Thurba Camp (1.6 km), Promontory Fort on Worms Head (1.7 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Old Castle Camp'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.
Old Castle Camp stands on Early Carboniferous limestone, bedrock that formed in the Early Carboniferous. The rock here is major:{limestone}, Minor{claystone,siltstone}.