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Pen-y-Castell Camp is a prehistoric hillfort situated in Wales and protected as a scheduled ancient monument under Cadw reference GM240. The site occupies bedrock of the Pennine and South Wales Lower Coal Measures Formation, a Westphalian-age sequence of mudstone, siltstone and sandstone interspersed with coal, ironstone and ferricrete. This varied geology would have offered Iron Age builders differing qualities of stone for rampart construction and settlement.
Hillforts of this type were established across Britain during the later prehistoric period, typically serving as defended settlements, livestock enclosures or centres of community activity. Pen-y-Castell's position exploits the natural topography of its location, a strategy common to such sites. The surrounding landscape of Coal Measures geology reflects the broader geological character of south Wales, an area rich in mineral resources that would have sustained prehistoric populations.
The monument remains a significant archaeological record of Iron Age settlement patterns in Wales. Its protection reflects the importance of hillforts in understanding prehistoric territorial organisation, social structure and land use across Britain during the centuries immediately preceding the Roman conquest.
Pen-y-Castell Camp is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference GM240. View the official record →
Pen-y-Castell Camp is a prehistoric hillfort situated in Wales and protected as a scheduled ancient monument under Cadw reference GM240.
Pen-y-Castell Camp dates from the prehistoric period, and is classified as a hillfort. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Pen-y-Castell 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 GM240.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Hutchwns round barrow (5.8 km), Merthyr Mawr Warren (6.1 km), Candleston Castle (6.2 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Pen-y-Castell 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.
Pen-y-Castell Camp stands on Pennine Lower Coal Measures Formation And South Wales Lower Coal Measures Formation (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Westphalian. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone, sandstone, coal, ironstone and ferricrete.