GM218

Gwern-y-Domen Castle Mound  

20/04/1953  

Designated  

Caerphilly  

Van  

317501  

187871  

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. The motte stands in a marshy field, butting onto a disused railway line on its south-west side. It is a large steep sided mound, 30m in diameter, c. 5m high. The top is flat, 20m in diameter, with a lip up to 2m high on the south side, 1m high on the north side. On the east side at the foot of the mound is a flat berm, c.4m wide, with a drop of c. 0.5m to the marshy field. This continues round to the north, where it is more bank like, until it is cut off by a field ditch. 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.