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Cof Cymru: National Historic Assets of Wales · Wales

Castle Llwyn Bedw

Llanfihangel-ar-Arth, Carmarthenshire, Wales

A scheduled monument in Llanfihangel-ar-Arth, Carmarthenshire, recorded as Motte (Medieval).

Ordnance Survey six-inch map, 2nd edition (1888–1913) covering the location of Castle Llwyn Bedw, Llanfihangel-ar-Arth, Carmarthenshire, with a pin at the register's coordinates
Ordnance Survey six-inch map, 2nd edition (1888–1913), covering this location. Courtesy of the National Library of Scotland. The pin is ours, placed from the register's coordinates.

The record

Designation
Scheduled monument
Site type
Motte
Period
Medieval
Community
Llanfihangel-ar-Arth
Unitary authority
Carmarthenshire
Country
Wales
Coordinates (centre of the scheduled area)
52.03369, -4.28856
SAM number
CM021
Cadw record number
2096

Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.

David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

5 historical maps cover this location, the earliest the 1830 map "V.3:11-15:XV. Britisches Reich. A. Kon: England. b. Frstenthum Wales: Shire: 37-40" (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries).

Historical maps covering this location

  • 1830 · V.3:11-15:XV. Britisches Reich. A. Kon: England. b. Frstenthum Wales: Shire: 37-40 (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
  • 1860 · 41. Caermathen. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
  • 1891 · Sheet 10. Ordnance Survey of England and Wales. . (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
  • 1898 · 211 Newcastle Emlyn (Hills) (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
  • 1901 · Sheet 14. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)

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This record in Cadw's own full report ↗

Cadw's description

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 small motte is 200ft in diameter at the base and 12ft high. It stands at the north east end of a low ridge running out into a swamp. The neck of the ridge on the south west side is cut through by a ditch 20ft wide and 4ft deep. Elsewhere it rises directly from the surrounding ground with no trace of a ditch. The south side has been slightly disturbed in recent years. The mound is said to have been lowered recently. The site is now in rough pasture with a hedge encroaching on the north and east sides of the mound.

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.

Nearby in the register

Other entries of the same register within about three miles of this one, by straight line.

Designated Historic Asset GIS Data, The Welsh Historic Environment Service (Cadw), 2026-09-07, licensed under the Open Government Licence http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/ Cadw, the Welsh Historic Environment Service · Open Government Licence v3.0
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