Caerau Hillfort

Caerau Hillfort stands on a ridge-top plateau in the western suburbs of Cardiff. It is a large triangular Iron Age hillfort built on an earlier Neolithic site. The fort covers 5.1 hectares and is surrounded by modern housing and the A4232 road. Within its defences lies St Mary’s church and a small medieval ringwork. The Silures tribe once held this stronghold before the Romans arrived. Excavations in 2012 and 2013–2014 revealed Neolithic flint tools from 3600 BC and Iron Age pottery. The hillfort’s defences include three massive ramparts on the north and south slopes, though these are now hidden by trees. Two entrances once allowed access, one on the east side and another near the south corner. A possible third entrance in the north-west has been worn away by a spring. Inside the fort, the land is now grassy pasture, but old field boundaries and rig-and-furrow marks remain. St Mary’s church, dating to the 13th century, is a ruin with stone walls and a tower. Nearby, a medieval ringwork may have been a bishop’s castle. The site offers quiet views over Cardiff’s western suburbs.