Tomenseba, Llangeler (The Gatehouse Record)

Tomenseba, Llangeler

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as;
Domen Seba, Bwlch y Domen; y Domen Fawr; Tomen Soba; Penboyr; y Tomen Fawr

In the community of Llangeler.
In the historic county of Carmarthenshire.
Modern authority of Carmarthenshire.
Preserved county of Dyfed.

OS Map Grid Reference: SN32553702
Latitude 52.00633° Longitude -4.44090°

Tomenseba, Llangeler has been described as a certain Timber Castle, and also as a probable Masonry Castle.

There are earthwork remains.

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.

Description

Thought to be a medieval castle motte: a steep-sided, ditched circular mound, some 32m in diameter & rising 6.4m to a level summit, some 12.5m in diameter, where foundations are said to have been encountered; the ditch is is partially water-filled: there are no indications of any further works. (Coflein)

Tomen Seba Motte is in a good state of preservation. It stands 30feet high from the bottom of the ditch to the top of the mound. There is a slight depression in the top of the mound and the mound is surrounded by a water-filled ditch about 20 feet wide. The mound stands in a field used for pasture and is itself covered with bracken and small trees. (Dyfed Archaeological Trust HER)

The monument comprises the remains of a motte and bailey castle, a military stronghold built during the medieval period (c. 1066 -1540 AD). A motte and bailey castle comprises a large conical or pyramidal mound of soil or stone (the motte) surrounded by, or adjacent to, one or more embanked enclosures (the bailey). Both may be surrounded by wet or dry ditches and could be further strengthened with palisades, revetments, and/or a tower on top of the motte. This monument stands in the corner of a grass field known as Parc y Domen near Bwlch y Domen farm. The motte and encircling ditch are well preserved, except for a slight disturbance on the NE side, and the bailey to the south is only very faintly traceable. It extends c. 100ft from the lip of the ditch. (Scheduling Report)

Sources of information, references and further reading

The CADW scheduled monument record number is CM020.
The National Monument Record (Coflein) number(s) for this site is/are 303737.
The County Historic Environment Record (formerly Sites and Monuments Record) number(s) for this site is/are 2273.

Books
- Morgan, Gerald, 2008, Castles in Wales: A Handbook (Talybont: Y Lolfa Cyf.) p. 236 (listed)
  Davis, Paul, 2000, A Company of Forts. A Guide to the Medieval Castles of West Wales (Gomer Press) p. 41
  Salter, Mike, 1996, The Castles of South West Wales (Malvern) p. 46 (slight)
  Davis, P.R., 1987, Castles of Dyfed (Llandysul: Gomer Press) p. 68
  King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol. 1 p. 59
  RCAHMW, 1917, An inventory of the Ancient Monuments of Carmarthenshire (HMSO) p. 226 no. 664 online copy
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

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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.
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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.

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.

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This record last updated 06/07/2016 11:11:29

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