CM021

Castle Llwyn Bedw  

 

Designated  

Carmarthenshire  

Llanfihangel-ar-Arth  

243109  

239726  

Defence  

Motte  

Medieval  

The following provides a general description of the Scheduled Ancient 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. This small motte is 200ft in diameter at the base and 12ft high. It stands at the north east end of a low ridge running out into a swamp. The neck of the ridge on the south west side is cut through by a ditch 20ft wide and 4ft deep. Elsewhere it rises directly from the surrounding ground with no trace of a ditch. The south side has been slightly disturbed in recent years. The mound is said to have been lowered recently. The site is now in rough pasture with a hedge encroaching on the north and east sides of the mound. 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.