Crugyn Dimai, Llanfarian (The Gatehouse Record)

Crugyn Dimai, Llanfarian

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as;
Lower Llanabadarn y Creuddyn

In the community of Llanfarian.
In the historic county of Cardiganshire.
Modern authority of Ceredigion.
Preserved county of Dyfed.

OS Map Grid Reference: SN59247872
Latitude 52.38865° Longitude -4.06967°

Crugyn Dimai, Llanfarian has been described as a Timber Castle although is doubtful that it was such, and also as a probable Siege Work.

There are earthwork remains.

Description

A substantial hillock, thought to be mostly natural, however the presence of a rabbit colony upon the flat summit in 1973, suggests that this part has been made-up. (source Os495card; SN57NE1) J.Wiles 14.02.02 A steep, predominantly natural, hillock some 8.0m in height whose west side is largely made up of a steep, exposed rock outcrop. There is some evidence that artificial paths or scoops have been cut into the hillock at some point in the past. However, there is no sign that the hill has been artificially defended although its exceptional position in a valley 'through route' and its prominent form must have invited settlement or human use during prehistoric and later times. The slopes to the N, S and E are earth covered and less steep, but still present good natural defences below the summit. The N slope is not a uniform gradient and is broken by a ?natural shoulder of rock or earth which continues around to the west. The summit, c10m wide, is oval in plan and mostly level, rising to a low rocky point at the W tip. To the N is an oval scoop taken from the edge of the level area c.4m wide which, if not natural, may result from quarrying. On the W side, the ground falls away steeply in a series of rocky ledges; one of these just below the summit has the appearance of an artificial path and is the place chosen for the erection of a TV aerial. No artefacts were found in rabbit burrows and sheep scrapes on and around the rock. The whole is wooded and thickly grown with brambles, wild garlic and bluebells. Visited by T Driver, 17th March 2000. T Driver, 5th May 2004. (Coflein)

Comments

Davis rejects as purely natural outcrop. However, this is a prominent feature in a position which controls roads and a river crossing and which certainly could have been used as a siege castle in any the numerous occasions when nearby Tan y Castell changed hands.

Sources of information, references and further reading

The National Monument Record (Coflein) number(s) for this site is/are 303889.
The County Historic Environment Record (formerly Sites and Monuments Record) number(s) for this site is/are 768.

Books
- Davis, Paul, 2000, A Company of Forts. A Guide to the Medieval Castles of West Wales (Gomer Press) p. 45 (reject)
  King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol. 1 p. 49
  Rees, Wm, 1932, Map of South Wales and the Border in the 14th century (Ordnance Survey) (A handbook to the map was published in 1933)
Periodical Articles
- Hogg, A.H.A. and King, D.J.C., 1963, 'Early castles in Wales and the Marches: a preliminary list' Archaeologia Cambrensis Vol. 112 p. 77-124 (possible)
  Renn, D.F., 1959, 'Mottes: a classification' Antiquity Vol. 33 p. 106-12 (listed as siegework)
  King, D.J.C., 1956, 'The Castles of Cardiganshire' Ceredigion Vol. 3 p. 67 no. 31 online copy

Most of the sites or buildings recorded in this web site are NOT open to the public and permission to visit a site must always be sought from the landowner or tenant.
It is an offence to disturb a Scheduled Monument without consent. It is a destruction of everyone's heritage to remove archaeological evidence from ANY site without proper recording and reporting.
Don't use metal detectors on historic sites without authorisation.

The information on this web page may be derived from information compiled by and/or copyright of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historic Monuments of Wales, the four welsh archaeological trusts and other individuals and organisations. It may also contain Designated Historic Asset Descriptive Information from The Welsh Historic Environment Service (Cadw), licensed under the Open Government Licence. All the sources given should be consulted to identify the original copyright holder and permission obtained from them before use of the information on this site for commercial purposes.
The author and compiler of Gatehouse does not receive any income from the site and funds it himself. The information within this site is provided freely for educational purposes only.

The bibliography owes much to various bibliographies produced by John Kenyon for the Council for British Archaeology, the Castle Studies Group and others.

Suggestions for finding online and/or hard copies of bibliographical sources can be seen at this link.
Minor archaeological investigations, such as watching brief reports, and some other 'grey' literature is most likely to be held by H.E.R.s but is often poorly referenced and is unlikely to be recorded here, or elsewhere, but some suggestions can be found here.

The possible site or monument is represented on maps as a point location. This is a guide only. It should be noted that OS grid references defines an area, not a point location. In practice this means the actual center of the site or monument may often, but not always, be to the North East of the point shown.
Locations derived from OS grid references and from latitude longitiude may differ by a small distance.
Further information on mapping and location can be seen at this link.

Lidar coverage in the UK is not complete. The button above will give an idea of the area of coverage. Higher resolution lidar images in both DSM and DTM form may be available from Lle A geo-Portal for Wales (click the preview tag to bring up a map and then select format byclicking on the small blue diamond in the top right corner of the map.)

Please help to make this as useful a resource as possible by contacting Gatehouse if you see errors, can add information or have suggestions for improvements in functality and design.
Help is acknowledged.

This record last updated before 1 February 2016

¤¤¤¤¤

Data >	Coflein	County HER
Maps >	Streetmap	NLS maps	Where's the path	Old-Maps
Data/Maps >	Magic	Historic Wales	V. O. B.	Geology	LIDAR
Air Photos >	Bing Maps	Google Maps	Getmapping	ZoomEarth
Photos >	CastleFacts	Geograph	Flickr	Panoramio