Three Pillow Mounds on Cefn Hirgoed

Cadw's description

Summary description and reason for designation

The following provides a general description of the Scheduled Ancient Monument.

The monument consists of the remains of a pillow mound dating to the medieval period. A pillow mound is a pillow-shaped, flat topped rectangular mound surrounded by a shallow ditch used to farm rabbits. The three mounds remain, out of eleven on the common at Cefn Hirgoed. They are probably associated with the medieval moated site to the south and/or Coity Castle. Rabbits were a source of meat restricted largely to the higher social strata until the 16th or 17th centuries. Warrens were constructed away from arable crops and were devised to encourage nesting. Documentary sources suggest that rabbits were chased out by ferrets and caught in nets. Partial excavation of two mounds revealed that the mounds were formed of earth piled over a grid of stones laid on the earlier ground surface, forming a series of stone lined compartments.

The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of agricultural techniques. It retains significant archaeological potential, with a strong probability of the presence of associated archaeological features and deposits.

The scheduled area comprises the remains described and areas around them within which related evidence may be expected to survive.