Morganstown Castle Mound, also known as Morganstown Motte, is a medieval
motte
A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade. Relatively easy to ...
in the
community
A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, tow ...
of
Morganstown
Morganstown ( cy, Pentre-poeth or ) is a part of the Community (Wales), community of Radyr and Morganstown in the north of Cardiff, just over northwest of Cardiff city centre and separated from Radyr to the south by the M4 motorway. It elects f ...
in
Cardiff
Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...
, Wales, which is a
scheduled monument
In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change.
The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...
.
History
Motte-and-bailey castles date back to the
medieval period
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
, from 1066 to 1540
AD.
Recently a broken piece of French
polychrome
Polychrome is the "practice of decorating architectural elements, sculpture, etc., in a variety of colors." The term is used to refer to certain styles of architecture, pottery or sculpture in multiple colors.
Ancient Egypt
Colossal statu ...
pottery ware was found on the site. There is no record of the motte as to its exact age, although as with other mottes in the north of Cardiff, such as Treoda Castle Mound and
Twmpath Castle, it is believed that it was established between the late 11th century and early 12th century.
Present day
The motte is a large mound of soil and/or stone and stands from high with steep sides and a flat top from in diameter and a base of diameter.
The tower on the motte would have been constructed out of either timber or stone.
The motte is surrounded by a ditch which was either a wet or dry ditch and wide with an outer bank from high and wide. The site is now overgrown with trees and shrubs.
has described the monument as being of "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."
See also
*
List of castles in Wales
Wales is sometimes called the "castle capital of the world" because of the large number of castles in a relatively small area. Wales had about 600 castles, of which over 100 are still standing, either as ruins or as restored buildings. The ...
*
Castles in Great Britain and Ireland
Castles have played an important military, economic and social role in Great Britain and Ireland since their introduction following the Norman invasion of England in 1066. Although a small number of castles had been built in England in the 1050 ...
*
List of scheduled monuments in Cardiff
*
List of motte-and-bailey castles
A motte-and-bailey is a form of castle, with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised earthwork called a motte, accompanied by an enclosed courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade. Relatively easy to build with ...
References
External links
* {{Commons category-inline, Morganstown Castle Mound
Images of the Morganstown Castle Mound from the RCAHMW
Castles in Cardiff
Scheduled monuments in Cardiff
Motte-and-bailey castles