The ancient name of Gelligaer was Senghenyth or Senghenid as recorded on a map
produced by William Rees in the 8th Century.

It is a fascinating area, rich in historical remains with castles, Roman forts, an
Elizabethan mansion, Bronze Age settlements, burial mounds, Ogham stones,
Christian sites and early iron-working sites all very much in evidence. Pre-history is
dramatically represented by a 4000 year-old megalithic tomb at Cam Bugail and by
four bronze flat axes unearthed in the Darren Valley. Below Cam Bugail stands a
nine-feet high maen-hir, the Kevn GelliGaer Stone. Its horizontal inscription has been
widely speculated upon, from a Welsh translation of 'Deffro it ti' (Mayst thou awake) to
a Roman 'Via Frontini' (the way of Frontinus - suggesting it refers to the Roman
general Julius Frontinus). A later, generally accepted form of translation was provided
by Edward Lhuyd in 1693 as being the proper Latin name for Dubricius, a saint who,
reportedly, crowned King Arthur in 512AD in Caerleon.

Excavations carried out in 1936 by Sir Cyril and Aileen Fox at Dinas Noddfa near
Cam Bugail revealed further evidence of early activity on the Gelligaer Common with
the unearthing of a 5th or 6th century settlement with unusual platform dwellings,
together with a nearby Bronze Age cemetery. Details of the excavation can be found
at the National Museum of Wales. The old Roman road across Gelligaer Common,
parts of which can be seen today, was jealously guarded by the Welsh princes as a
safe and strategic route to the south.

The aura of Gelligaer's fascinating history and the magical mythology that surrounds
it can still be sensed on its upper moorlands where its hills have remained virtually
untouched since Llewellyn, the last true Prince of Wales, led his army southwards to
battle against the Normans.