Castell Arnallt
Encyclopedia
Castell Arnallt located below Abergavenny
and near modern-day Llanover
in the Usk Valley
of Monmouthshire
, Wales
, was a fortification believed to have been the site of the palace of the Kings of Over Gwent. The structure there was destroyed in 1175 and as such little is remaining today beyond the natural mound it sat atop and the remnants of two enclosures.
The castle was destroyed by retainers of William de Braose, 4th Lord of Bramber
, who razed it in a surprise attack while its lord, Seisyll ap Dyfnwal
, was away at de Braose's own holding, Abergavenny Castle
. After luring him there on the pretext of celebrating Christmas Day and settling their differences, de Braose murdered Seisyllt, his son Geoffrey and other Welshmen from Gwent, while they feasted unarmed. While this was happening at Abergavenny, de Braose's retainers were burning Castell Arnallt, as well as killing Seisyll's other son Cadwaladr. Additionally, his wife was either kidnapped or killed during the raid.
The survey revealed that the oblong mound had a surprisingly large surface area at 10,671.346m³ and was elevated by a 43% gradient to a maximum height above natural of 8.19m. This reading, however, is only representative of the one side of the mound, the other sides reducing to fairly shallow slopes and much less height. The western edge was reduced to two stages, the first rise being only 1.5m and the second an extra 4m.
http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/collections/blurbs/776.cfm. The high resistance anomalies also suggest that the mound had a good number of sub-surface structures of more than one phase of construction. There is even the possibility of a gate structure to the west side of the upper mound.
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Abergavenny
Abergavenny , meaning Mouth of the River Gavenny, is a market town in Monmouthshire, Wales. It is located 15 miles west of Monmouth on the A40 and A465 roads, 6 miles from the English border. Originally the site of a Roman fort, Gobannium, it became a medieval walled town within the Welsh Marches...
and near modern-day Llanover
Llanover
- Location :Llanover is located four miles south of Abergavenny just off the A4042 road to Pontypool.- History & Amenities :Llanover is associated with Lady Llanover who lived locally all her life and certainly left her mark on the village and the surrounding Llanover estate, still privately owned...
in the Usk Valley
River Usk
The River Usk rises on the northern slopes of the Black Mountain of mid-Wales, in the easternmost part of the Brecon Beacons National Park. Initially it flows north into Usk Reservoir, then east by Sennybridge to Brecon before turning southeast to flow by Talybont-on-Usk, Crickhowell and...
of Monmouthshire
Monmouthshire
Monmouthshire is a county in south east Wales. The name derives from the historic county of Monmouthshire which covered a much larger area. The largest town is Abergavenny. There are many castles in Monmouthshire .-Historic county:...
, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
, was a fortification believed to have been the site of the palace of the Kings of Over Gwent. The structure there was destroyed in 1175 and as such little is remaining today beyond the natural mound it sat atop and the remnants of two enclosures.
The castle was destroyed by retainers of William de Braose, 4th Lord of Bramber
William de Braose, 4th Lord of Bramber
William de Braose, , 4th Lord of Bramber , court favourite of King John of England, at the peak of his power, was also Lord of Gower, Abergavenny, Brecknock, Builth, Radnor, Kington, Limerick, Glamorgan, Skenfrith, Briouze in Normandy, Grosmont, and White Castle.-Lineage:William was the most...
, who razed it in a surprise attack while its lord, Seisyll ap Dyfnwal
Seisyll ap Dyfnwal
Seisyll ap Dyfnwal was a 12th century Welsh Lord of Gwent Uwchcoed .- Family and estates :Seisyll was the son of Dyfnwal ap Caradog ap Ynyr Fychan and his wife, said to have been Joyce daughter of Hamelin de Balun...
, was away at de Braose's own holding, Abergavenny Castle
Abergavenny Castle
Abergavenny Castle is a castle in the market town of Abergavenny, Monmouthshire in south east Wales.- A naturally fortified site :The castle was sited above the River Usk overlooking the river valley and the confluence of the rivers Gavenny and Usk. The site would have been naturally defensible in...
. After luring him there on the pretext of celebrating Christmas Day and settling their differences, de Braose murdered Seisyllt, his son Geoffrey and other Welshmen from Gwent, while they feasted unarmed. While this was happening at Abergavenny, de Braose's retainers were burning Castell Arnallt, as well as killing Seisyll's other son Cadwaladr. Additionally, his wife was either kidnapped or killed during the raid.
Location
Castell Arnallt can be reached from the B4598 Abergavenny to Raglan road by turning south over the railway bridge just to the west of the turn for the Bryn, some 2.5 km east south-east of Abergavenny.Description
The site is a large, oblong mound lying in pasture land by the side of the River Usk. Today is used for grazing cattle and is in a good state of preservation. The long axis of the mound can be divided into two areas, the eastern half being a flat-topped plateau some four metres higher than the western half, which takes the form of an elongated spur. However, apart from the mound itself the subsurface features, of which there are many, are very slight and dependant on lighting conditions. The photograph. shows the north face of the mound. The dark shadow running along its length is a fairly modern farm track leading to a derelict farm complex. Above the track and parallel to it is a barely discernible linear feature which marks a possible bank. To the right of the top of the mound, where the figure can be seen is a slight mound with more linear features. The linear features run from the top of the mound towards the barn. The round feature on top is a small quarry. To the right of the quarry is another circular feature which appears to be structural. The second photograph shows the western end of the site where the second circular feature is located.Topographic survey
The survey revealed that the oblong mound had a surprisingly large surface area at 10,671.346m³ and was elevated by a 43% gradient to a maximum height above natural of 8.19m. This reading, however, is only representative of the one side of the mound, the other sides reducing to fairly shallow slopes and much less height. The western edge was reduced to two stages, the first rise being only 1.5m and the second an extra 4m.