id: sig-20260722-report-cm008
site_id: gb-carmarthen-carmarthen
attribute: designation_report
value: 'Reference Number

  CM008

  Name

  Carmarthen Castle

  Date of Designation

  Status

  Designated

  Unitary Authority

  Carmarthenshire

  Community

  Carmarthen

  Easting

  241294

  Northing

  219972

  Broad Class

  Defence

  Site Type

  Castle

  Period

  Medieval

  The monument consists of the remains of a masonry castle dating mainly the 12th to 14th
  centuries. The castle originating at the beginning of the 12th century replaced an earlier
  fortification further down the River Towy and quickly became important, passing into the
  hands of the Crown and becoming the  administrative centre of south west Wales. Captured
  and destroyed by Llywelyn the Great in 1215 it was recaptured by William Marshall the younger,
  earl of Pembroke in 1223, the first masonry castle may have been constructed at this date.
  The remains comprises a stone-revetted motte, twin-towered gatehouse, a south west corner
  tower and wall turret east of this together with short sections of curtain wall, all to
  the west of the site. The motte walls have two small half-round turrets to the north and
  paired buttresses representing the site of a further turret to west, the majority of this
  fabric is the result of 19th century reconstruction.

  The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of medieval
  defensive practices. The monument is well-preserved and an important relic of the medieval
  landscape. It retains significant archaeological potential, with a strong probability of
  the presence of both structural evidence and intact associated deposits.

  The scheduled area comprises the remains described and areas around them within which related
  evidence may be expected to survive.'
source_url: http://cadwpublic-api.azurewebsites.net/reports/sam/FullReport?lang=en&id=331
source_title: Scheduled Monument Full Report — Carmarthen Castle
publisher: Cadw
observed_date: '2026-07-22'
collected_by: scripts/build_assessment_batch.py
confidence: high
notes: The designation text. Assess the six bands against THIS evidence only; omit any band
  it does not speak to.