We discovered this area during our first Lockdown 2020 walk back in March, before I even began caching. This Multi is about taking you to places you may not have been and providing a chance to learn some local history. The Hillfort is a protected area, and so the cache will be found in a nearby location. When I dropped it off I went for a DRIVE to a friend of Lake and Palmer. There is free parking available at both locations.
THE HUNT FOR NUMBERS
The cache can be found at: 051. (A x C) + B. DEF 003.(G + H). KIM
1. At the starting point there is a noticeboard. How many organisations receive Acknowledgments? This is A.
2. Walk up the path towards St Mary's Church (additional Waypoint provided). On the path are a number of metal poles on the left hand side. 1 pole has a padlock attached. Further up, is a bike lock attached to a fence. How many poles apart are these locks? This is B.
3. How many large stones are at the church entrance at the end of the path? This is C.
4. Sarah Williams died in 1904. Aged 4D.
5. Edward Silman died in 19E6.
6. There is a grave with a Star of David. How old was Howell? 1F
7. There is a large, reddish monument to Sarah Attewell. What year did she die? 18GH
8. Private J. Murray of the Welsh Regiment can be found here. What is his army number? IJKLM
You can check your solutions at the below link:
https://bit.ly/3i07Iro
THE CACHE
The cache is a mystery container of Small size. A hint for the type of container can be found in the Bible verse John 1:5. There is a sticker identifying the container as a cache. There is space inside for small SWAG. Please ensure the lid is correctly attached to avoid damage from the elements.
CAERAU HILLFORT
Caerau Hillfort is the third largest Iron Age hillfort in Glamorgan, enclosing 5.1 hectares (13 acres). It is worth looking online for aerial photographs to get an idea of the areas geography.
Excavations for an episode of Chanel 4's Time Team, broadcast in April 2012, showed the hillfort's occupation began about 2550 ago. Further excavations, in 2013–2014, revealed evidence of the site's occupation back to the early Neolithic. Finds included flint tools and weapons dating to 5550 BP (before present). Iron Age and Romano-British pottery as well as a single fragment of a mortarium (1st century AD Roman pouring vessel) have been found from an area north-west of the southern entrance. (Information from Wikipedia, accessed 17/10/2020)
ST MARY’S CHURCH
If you continue up the footpath, you will reach St Mary’s Church. If you arrive after dark, you may see some local youngsters using the place as a hangout. When I visited recently, I scared 3 of them as they thought they were alone, and I reassured them that they were fine.
The church was built between 1254 and 1291, when it was first mentioned in the Taxatio Ecclesiasticus of Pope Nicholas IV. It was substantially rebuilt by the Reverend Victor Jones in 1960-61. In 1973 it was closed and deconsecrated and has subsequently deteriorated into a ruin. Since 1999 a group of former and current parishioners, the Friends of St. Mary’s Church at Caerau, have been campaigning to preserve and commemorate the remains of the church. (Information from Wikipedia, accessed 17/10/2020)
For more information on St Mary’s Church, visit StMarysCaerau.org