Caerau Hillfort View all content for Caerau

Visited 9.3.13 Due to family commitments it was not possible to get away this weekend for a spot of ‘old stoning’ so a local re-visit was in order. Although I have visited this Hillfort a couple of times previously I was keen to have another visit after watching the recent Time team episode filmed there. I was hoping to see where they had put the trenches in. Dafydd was out with his sister so this was a rare opportunity for a trip out with just Sophie – who duly obliged by falling asleep in the car! This resulted in a rather problematic scramble up the steep hillside mention in my previous fieldnotes whilst trying to carry a sleeping 2 year old! Somehow I managed to get to the top but it wasn’t long before the cold biting wind woke Sophie up – she was not impressed! We walked up and over the medieval ditches and past the ruined church – still overgrown and showing the signs of recent visits from the locals – empty vodka bottles etc. We soon arrived at the field behind the church with is the centre of the Hillfort – today occupied by 5 horses – which Sophie insisted in calling cows and shouting ‘moo’ to them! Needless to say the horses ignored us. We climbed over the fence and walked around the perimeter of the Hillfort. It was very muddy and I wished I had worn the wellies I had left in the car. There was little left to see in terms of defences although there were the remains of a rampart in places – approx 1m high. This is one of those Hillforts where they must have relied heavily on the steepness of the sides to act as the main deterrent. At the far (western) end of the field appeared to be the original entrance to the site which had banks still standing around 2m in height. However, I couldn’t investigate any further as the ‘entrance’ was more like a swamp with standing water at least 1ft deep. Again, I wished I had worn my wellies. Looking around the field I could see no trace of the Time Team trenches. Either they were backfilled very carefully or the trenches were the other side of the ‘entrance’? The only thing I could make out were two very faint curving ‘ditches’ crossing the site. I have no idea if these are prehistoric or not or even if they are natural? The whole site is surrounded by trees and bushes. By now it was getting very cold and Sophie was getting very restless. It had also started to rain. We headed back across the site, past the church and back down the hill – which was even harder than trying to get up it. We slipped and slithered down and I managed to pull a muscle in my arm as I grabbed onto a branch to avoid falling – which Sophie found amusing! By the time we got back to the car we were muddy, cold and wet – I was also in a lot of pain. Time to go home…………………

Posted by CARL 11th March 2013ce

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