Scheduled MonumentsWalesTwyn-y-Gaer Camp
Prehistoric · Hillfort

Twyn-y-Gaer Camp

Wales
Cadw SAM MM148
Period
Prehistoric
Site type
Hillfort
Broad class
Defence
Nation
Wales
The designation
Reference
Cadw SAM MM148
Authority
Cadw
Designated
1956-10-23
Boundary

Scheduled area

© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Cadw

Overview

History & significance

Twyn-y-Gaer Camp is a prehistoric hillfort located in Wales and protected by Cadw under reference MM148. The site occupies high ground underlain by Lower Devonian sandstone and conglomerate bedrock, a geology that would have offered both defensive advantage and building stone to its Iron Age inhabitants. The undifferentiated rocks of Early Devonian age form a naturally elevated and well-drained foundation, typical of sites chosen for strategic settlement during prehistory.

The hillfort follows the traditional British pattern of promontory or hilltop fortification, where commanding terrain provided natural defences supplemented by anthropogenic earthworks. The specific character of Devonian geology at this location—with its interbedded layers of sandstone and conglomerate—would have shaped the construction methods available to those who built and maintained the fortifications, influencing the durability and form of ramparts and internal structures.

As a scheduled ancient monument under Cadw's custodianship, Twyn-y-Gaer Camp remains an important archaeological resource within Wales's prehistory. The site contributes to understanding of hillfort distribution and settlement patterns during the later prehistoric period, and the surviving earthworks preserve evidence of defensive engineering in an Iron Age context.

Twyn-y-Gaer Camp is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference MM148. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Twyn-y-Gaer Camp?

Twyn-y-Gaer Camp is a prehistoric hillfort located in Wales and protected by Cadw under reference MM148.

What period does Twyn-y-Gaer Camp date from?

Twyn-y-Gaer 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.

Who is responsible for protecting Twyn-y-Gaer Camp?

Twyn-y-Gaer 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 MM148.

What other scheduled monuments are near Twyn-y-Gaer Camp?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Llanwenarth Churchyard Cross-Base (7.4 km), Area of Conventual Buildings, St Mary's Priory (7.9 km), Abergavenny Roman Fort (7.9 km).

Unlimited access

Everything a full report reveals about Twyn-y-Gaer Camp

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Twyn-y-Gaer Camp'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.
First month just £4.99, then £9.99 a month. Unlimited locations, cancel anytime.

Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.

Start your Twyn-y-Gaer Camp report
Or see a real report first
The ground beneath

The bedrock under Twyn-y-Gaer Camp

Twyn-y-Gaer Camp stands on Lower Devonian Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Early Devonian. The rock here is sandstone and conglomerate, interbedded.