CN031

Tomen Fawr  

19/10/1923  

Designated  

Gwynedd  

Llanystumdwy  

245419  

337636  

Defence  

Ringwork  

Medieval  

The following provides a general description of the Scheduled Monument. The monument consists of the remains of a ring-motte dating to the medieval period (AD1066-1485). The ring-motte is an earth mound surrounded by a ditch, originally with a timber or stone tower atop the mound. It is situated on the edge of a ridge of clay drift, 400m from the sea. The interior, 12m in diameter, has been partly filled in by the collapse of the bank around its perimeter. The top of the bank is between 2m and 4m above the interior, although this diminishes to 0.5m on the S edge, where part of the bank may have collapsed outward. The bank is 2m wide at the top. The encircling ditch is best preserved on the W and E sides, where it is 4m below the crest of the bank. On the N the ditch has been partly filled in, although it is still visible. On the S the site is defended by the natural slope, although this has been dug into to obtain material for the bank, which resulted in the line of the ditch being continued round the monument. Irregularities in the ground to the S of the mound may represent an annexed area associated with occupation of the ring-motte. The site has never been excavated but is mentioned in historical sources, these explain how Tomen Fawr was held by Tudur ab Einion ap Caradog until it was granted to Queen Eleanor in 1284. The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of medieval settlement and defence. It retains significant archaeological potential, with a strong probability of the presence of associated archaeological features and deposits. The structures themselves may be expected to contain archaeological information concerning chronology and building techniques. Tomen Fawr is also unusual in being a banked circular enclosure, rather than a conventional motte (flat-topped earth mound). The scheduled area comprises the remains described and areas around them within which related evidence may be expected to survive.