Post Roman

By the time the Romans had totally abandoned Britain (410 AD), the fort at Gelligaer was probably in ruins, as it appears that it was only occasionally occupied in the late 3rd and early 4th centuries. The stone would have been used to build other structures, and you can see lots of stones in walls around Gelligaer which may originally have been a part of the fort.

Roman influences remained for many centuries, but gradually the local Celtic culture was rediscovered. On Gelligaer Common there are standing stones that maybe commemorative of great warriors, or may mark burial sites, continuing the Roman custom of burying the dead alongside roads.

Christianity spread across Britain after the Romans left, and so the period is often called the “Age of the Saints” and Gelligaer has strong saintly connections. Catwg, son of Gwladys (daughter of King Brychan) established churches in Wales (including Gelligaer), Scotland and one in Brittany, and it is said that he and his monks used the Roman roads as they undertook their missionary work.