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Tomen y Faerdre Castle Mound is a medieval motte constructed on Carboniferous limestone bedrock in Wales. The mound rises prominently from the local landscape, its earthwork form typical of Norman and early medieval military architecture in the Welsh Marches. Built upon Dinantian deposits of limestone with interbedded sandstone and mudstone, the site exploits naturally elevated ground that would have commanded views of surrounding territory. The motte's defensive position reflects strategic siting practices common to castle-building in medieval Wales, where lords required strongholds capable of controlling both local routes and settlements.
The monument is protected by Cadw, the Welsh Historic Monuments service, ensuring its preservation as part of Wales's medieval heritage. Such mottes, whether later crowned with timber or stone fortifications, served as military and administrative centres during the medieval period. The specific geology of the site—the stable limestone foundation—would have provided sound conditions for construction and long-term stability of the earthwork.
Tomen y Faerdre exemplifies the distribution of motte castles across Wales, structures that remain vital to understanding medieval settlement, military organisation and the exercise of authority in the region.
Tomen y Faerdre Castle Mound is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference DE006. View the official record →
Tomen y Faerdre Castle Mound is a medieval motte constructed on Carboniferous limestone bedrock in Wales. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Cadw under reference DE006.
Tomen y Faerdre Castle Mound dates from the medieval period, and is classified as a motte. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Tomen y Faerdre Castle Mound 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 DE006.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Cyrn y Brain Round Barrows (7.4 km), Cryn-y-Brain Round Barrow (8.2 km), Ty Mawr Round Barrows (8.6 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Tomen y Faerdre Castle Mound'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.
Tomen y Faerdre Castle Mound stands on Dinantian Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Mississippian. The rock here is limestone with subordinate sandstone and argillaceous rocks.