Scheduled MonumentsWalesPant Mawr Hillfort
Prehistoric · Hillfort

Pant Mawr Hillfort

Ceredigion, Wales
Cadw SAM CD170
Period
Prehistoric
Site type
Hillfort
Broad class
Defence
Nation
Wales
The designation
Reference
Cadw SAM CD170
Authority
Cadw
Designated
1998-07-13
Boundary

Scheduled area

© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Cadw

Overview

History & significance

Pant Mawr Hillfort is a prehistoric fortified settlement situated in Wales on bedrock composed of Llandovery sandstones and conglomerates. The underlying geology shaped the defensive possibilities of the site, offering stone for construction whilst the uneven terrain provided natural advantages for settlement. The hillfort occupies a landscape characteristic of Welsh prehistoric settlement patterns, where elevated positions commanding views of surrounding land were favoured for defensive and administrative purposes.

The site is protected as a scheduled ancient monument under Cadw, the Welsh heritage body, registered under reference CD170. This protection recognises its significance as evidence of Iron Age or Bronze Age occupation and social organisation. Hillforts of this period typically served as centres for communities, accommodating residential structures, storage facilities and communal spaces within their defended perimeters.

Pant Mawr exemplifies the strategic and architectural responses of prehistoric Welsh communities to their environment. The fort's location reflects the choices made by its builders regarding access to water, agricultural land and visibility across the terrain. The surviving earthworks preserve information about prehistoric settlement hierarchy, population density and the technologies employed in creating these distinctive monuments that characterised the later prehistoric period in Wales.

Pant Mawr Hillfort is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference CD170. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Pant Mawr Hillfort?

Pant Mawr Hillfort is a prehistoric fortified settlement situated in Wales on bedrock composed of Llandovery sandstones and conglomerates. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Cadw under reference CD170.

What period does Pant Mawr Hillfort date from?

Pant Mawr Hillfort 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 Pant Mawr Hillfort?

Pant Mawr Hillfort 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 CD170.

What other scheduled monuments are near Pant Mawr Hillfort?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Caer Argoed (4.7 km), Gaer Fawr (5.3 km), Enclosure on Banc Pwlldrainllwyn (6.4 km).

Unlimited access

Everything a full report reveals about Pant Mawr Hillfort

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Pant Mawr Hillfort'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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Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.

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The ground beneath

The bedrock under Pant Mawr Hillfort

Pant Mawr Hillfort stands on Llandovery Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Llandovery. The rock here is sandstone and conglomerate, interbedded.