The Mystery of Mathraval · 3 March 05 · Issue 1

Towards the north-east part of old Montgomeryshire, on a spur of land overlooking the point at which the River Banwy joins the Vyrnwy to flow through the Vale of Meifod, sits an earthern mound a few metres high, adjacent to a low rectangular earthwork enclosure, now all grassed over. This all but forgotten place was, many centuries ago, known throughout the land as one of the three chief courts of Wales, the centre of the kingdom of Powys. stretching from Pumlumon in the west to almost to the gates of Chester. But the history of Mathraval is full of baffling problems and tantalising gaps. Here Dr. David Stephenson, a historiuan of medieval Wales seeks to shed light on its enigmatic story.