MM043

Caer Licyn  

 

Designated  

Newport  

Langstone  

338981  

192836  

Defence  

Motte  

Medieval  

The following provides a general description of the Scheduled Ancient Monument. The site comprises a medieval motte and bailey situated on the top of the Wentwood ridge, overlooking the coastal plain to the SE and the Usk valley to the NW. The motte comprises a small stony mound, 7m in diameter and up to 2.5m high, situated on the NW side of the site adjacent to the modern lane. The bailey is roughly circular in plan and covers around 2 acres. It comprises a flat area of ground bounded by a low bank with a stretch of ditch on the NE side. The bank is highest on the NE side, up to 2.5m, and up to 2m around the rest of the circuit. The ditch is around 4m wide and 1m deep, and has an external bank, up to 1.5m high, on the E side. Recent surveys have questioned the interpretation of the site, proposing instead that it consists of a Bronze Age cairn surrounded by Iron Age ramparts. No investigative work has been carried out to confirm this. The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of medieval defensive organisation. The well-preserved monument forms an important element within the wider medieval context and the structure itself may be expected to contain archaeological information relating to chronology, building techniques and functional detail. The scheduled area comprises the remains described and areas around them within which related evidence may be expected to survive.