RD117

Aberedw Castle Mound  

 

Designated  

Powys  

Aberedw  

307840  

247185  

Defence  

Motte  

Medieval  

The following provides a general description of the Scheduled Monument. The monument comprises the remains of a motte and ditch, dating to the medieval period (c. 1066 -1540 AD). A motte is a large conical or pyramidal mound of soil and/or stone, usually surrounded by either a wet or dry ditch, and surmounted by a tower constructed of timber or stone. Aberedw Castle Mound, also known as Hen Castell, sits on the summit of a rocky ridge on the north side of the gorge of the Edw. It is a steep-sided, roughly oval mound c.30m in diameter and c.5.1m high, with a summit c.10m across. A depression c.0.3m deep within this may hint at the presence of a stone tower. The motte is surrounded by a ditch and counterscarp on all sides but the south-east, where the natural cliff of the gorge provides sufficient protection. This site would have been succeeded, probably in 1284-85, by the nearby stone castle (Scheduled Monument RD029). The mound may have seen further use as a viewing platform in relation to the gardens of the much later nearby mansion. The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of medieval defensive practices. The monument is well-preserved and an important relic of the medieval landscape. It retains significant archaeological potential, with a strong probability of the presence of both structural evidence and intact associated deposits. The scheduled area comprises the remains described and areas around them within which related evidence may be expected to survive.