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Castle Tump is a medieval motte, a fortified earthwork consisting of an artificial mound crowned with a palisaded timber structure and surrounded by a defensive ditch. Located in Wales, the monument rises from bedrock of Pridoli rocks—undifferentiated mudstone, siltstone and sandstone deposited during the Pridoli epoch of the Palaeozoic era. This underlying geology of relatively soft sedimentary stone would have presented both advantages and challenges to medieval builders: easier to excavate for the surrounding ditch, yet potentially less stable for supporting the substantial earthwork. The motte represents a form of fortification particularly common in the Norman and post-Norman periods throughout Britain and Wales, serving as a local stronghold and administrative centre for its surrounding territory. Castle Tump is protected as a scheduled monument by Cadw, Wales's historic monuments service, under reference RD135, ensuring its preservation for future study and public heritage access.
Castle Tump is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference RD135. View the official record →
Castle Tump is a medieval motte, a fortified earthwork consisting of an artificial mound crowned with a palisaded timber structure and surrounded by a defensive ditch. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Cadw under reference RD135.
Castle Tump dates from the medieval period, and is classified as a motte. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Castle Tump is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Cadw — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in Wales. The official designation reference is RD135.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Castell Bronllys (7.3 km), Bronllys moated site (7.5 km), Wern Frank Wood round cairn (7.6 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Castle Tump's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Castle Tump stands on Pridoli Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Pridoli. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.