Parc-y-Domen

Parc y Domen is a medieval mound in the village of Cenarth in Carmarthenshire. It stands on a quiet lane near the River Teifi without the usual surrounding bank called a bailey. Most such mounds in Wales were built between the late 11th and the second half of the 12th century from earth and stone, often with a ditch around them. The Normans brought this style of fortification from France and the Welsh adopted it. Cadw has listed the site, giving it the reference number CM086. The largest cluster of these mounds in Britain lies along the Welsh border, including areas now called Shropshire, Cheshire, Herefordshire, Powys and Flintshire. Visitors find a grassy mound rising gently above the lane. A ditch once ran around the base, though it is now partly filled. The mound itself is made of soil and small stones heaped long ago. From the top there are views over the village rooftops and the wooded valley of the Teifi. The site is quiet, with no modern buildings nearby, so the medieval earthwork stands almost as it did centuries ago.