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The comprehensive gazetteer and bibliography of the medieval castles, fortifications and palaces of England, Wales, the Islands.
 
 
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Battle Tump, Llanelly

In the community of Llanelly.
In the historic county of Brecknockshire.
Modern authority of Monmouthshire.
Preserved county of Gwent.

OS Map Grid Reference: SO246156
Latitude 51.83450° Longitude -3.09531°

Battle Tump, Llanelly has been described as a Timber Castle although is doubtful that it was such.

There are uncertain remains.

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.
Description

Battle Tump comprises of a large oval mound c 15ft high. The area on top is only partly flat and slopes downwards away from the castle. The long oval mound stands on flat ground at the northern end of Lower Common, adjacent to the garden of Dan-y-coed. The highest end is the north-western end, which stands 4-5m high. The sides at the end are quite steep. The top is flattish and narrow, sloping gradually down towards the south-east end. (Coflein)

Phillips notes that key features of Battle Tump include an elongated mound with a narrow ridge top and a north-west south-east orientation aligned with the valley; he interprets the site as geological with no characteristics associated with a motte and bailey (Phillips 2004). (Glamorgan-Gwent Archaeological Trust HER)

The monument consists of a large oval mound approximately 70m long by 30m wide. The mound comprises an artificial elevation of earth and river pebbles and is a maximum height of 5m at the NW end. Here the summit of the mound is relatively flat with steep sides. On the SE side of the summit the mound slopes gradually down. The mound is covered with trees and partly contained within a private garden. (Scheduling Report)
Comments

This site has been considered by some writers to be a castle but is rejected as such by Hogg and King. This site appears to be scheduled as a medieval mound, in Broadclass 'Defence' but was still described as a castle mound in local government documents dated 1999. Unusually for a SAM it is not marked on the OS map. In CA King writes "Identified as a motte, it is in fact a long hog-backed mound of river boulders, presumably artificial, but of obscure purpose." Phillips reports a local legend of the structure being the grave of warriors.
Links to archaeological and architectural databases, mapping and other online resources

Data >
Coflein   County HER   Scheduling        
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Sources of information, references and further reading
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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.
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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.
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This record last updated 05/07/2016 17:19:08
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