CD031

Cwm-Meurig-Isaf Mound and Bailey Castle  

 

Designated  

Ceredigion  

Ystrad Fflur  

271861  

267762  

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 site is a steep-sided, flat-topped circular mound, c.23m in diameter and c.5.0m high, with a summit c.10m in diameter showing the clear scar of an excavation trench on the east. The mound is surrounded by a ditch c.0.5m deep. There are possible indications of a curvilinear enclosure, roughly 40-50m across, on the north. It has been suggested, with no clear evidence, that this might represent a precursor to the more complex castle site (SAM CD032) 1.6km to the west. 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.