Gaer Hill Fort, Trellech

Iron Age Hillfort

Gaer hill fort, Trellech is likely a hillfort, dating to the Iron Age period, specifically between c. 800 BC and AD 74, which corresponds to the Roman conquest of Wales. The hillfort is located on a south-facing slope below the summit of a hill, with steep slopes on the south, east, and west sides, and is roughly circular in plan, measuring 105 meters in diameter.

The interior of the hillfort is flat and slopes towards the south. It is surrounded by a gently sloping bank and a ditch, although the ditch is not visible on the northern side where there is a slight rise in the ground at the field boundary. On the eastern side, the bank is 0.5 meters high on the inside and 1.8 meters high on the outside, with a slight ditch outside it before a steep drop below. The ditch becomes less defined towards the southern end, where the bank becomes a scarp that is continuous with the slope below. The scarp on the southern side is 2.5 meters high, with a gently sloping berm of approximately 5 meters wide below it, which widens towards the western end. In the southwest corner, there is a knoll on top of the scarp, measuring 1.3 meters high on the inside and 2.2 meters high on the outside, with steep sides and stones on the surface. There is a slight hollow on the southwest side of the top. To the north of the knoll, there is a 3-meter-wide gap in the bank.

On the western side of the hillfort, there is a bank with a slight internal height and an external height of 2 meters. Outside the bank, there is a very slight ditch and outer bank, with a combined width of 10 meters. In the middle of the western side, there is a slight dip in the outer bank, which is most visible at its northern end where it runs into the hedge at the edge of the field.

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