Tomen y Mur Roman military complex & Norman motte (built on the NW gate of the phase II fort) looking SSW to the Rhinogs.


Tomen y Mur Roman military complex & Norman motte looking SSW to the Rhinogs. An auxiliary fort, built AD75 (or 77 or 78 as part of Agricola's campaign in Wales), with earth & timber defences enclosing c 2ha (5 acres). Reduced in size under Trajan (AD98-117), to ( acres) within stone-faced ramparts & abandoned under Hadrian by c 130. In 1095 a Norman motte associated with William Rufus (son of William the Conqueror) was built over the NW entrance of the reduced Roman fort, its ramparts providing a ready-made bailey. A length of restored Roman wall is visible before the motte & to R of the ruined farmhouse. The pre-motte site features as Mur y Castell in the story of Math fab Mathonwy (Fourth Branch of The Mabinogi).


Size: 6048px × 4032px
Location: Tomen y Mur, Trawsfynydd, Ffestiniog, Gwynedd, Wales, UK
Photo credit: © Mick Sharp / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: 11th, 1st, ardudwy, authority, auxiliary, bailey, britain, british, c11th, c1stad, castell, castle, century, complex, cymru, earthwork, farmhouse, flavian, fort, great, gwynedd, landscape, mabinogi, mabinogion, maentwrog, merioneth, military, motte, mound, mur, national, norman, north, park, rampart, reconstructed, restored, rhinogs, roman, rufus, ruined, rushes, snowdonia, tomen, tomen--mur, trawsfynydd, uk, upland, uplands, wales, wall, welsh, william