CM077

Talley Mound and Bailey Castle  

 

Designated  

Carmarthenshire  

Talley  

263147  

233368  

Defence  

Motte and Bailey  

Medieval  

The following provides a general description of the Scheduled Ancient Monument. The monument comprises the remains of a motte and bailey castle, a military stronghold built during the medieval period and situated on an isthmus between the two lakes, facing across the upper lake to the ruins of Talley Abbey. A motte and bailey castle comprises a large conical or pyramidal mound of soil or stone (the motte) surrounded by, or adjacent to, one or more embanked enclosures (the bailey). The earthworks at Talley occupy a roughly oval 0.5m high platform measuring about 82m east-west by 56m at the centre of which is the motte; c 30m in diameter and c 5.0m high. Ditches c 0.4m deep separate this from the bailey on the east and another smaller outwork on the west. 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.