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Origin and history

The castral motte of Rospellem is a medieval fortified site located in Carnoët, in the department of Côtes-d-Armor in Brittany. Located at the southern end of a rocky spur, it overlooks the confluence of the Aulne and Landeren Creek, providing a strategic position both defensive and economic. Its architecture consists of a 15 m high truncated motte, surrounded by a wide dry ditch, and a low courtyard protected by a rise of land and a second ditch. The sommital platform retains remains of stone constructions, although partially altered by later excavations.

The site, in excellent condition of conservation, illustrates the typical fortification techniques of the Middle Ages. Its spatial organization reflects a dual vocation: military control of the territory and management of local resources, as evidenced by its dominant position and defensive developments. The lower yard, located in the south, probably occupied agricultural or artisanal functions, complementing the residential and strategic role of the moth.

The Rospellem castral mot was officially recognized for its heritage value by an inscription on 18 September 1995. This order protects the entire site, including the mott, the bassyard and their immediate environment (ZB Park 3), both on the surface and in the basement. This legal protection underlines its importance as a material testimony of feudal occupation in inland Brittany.

Available sources, including the Merimée database records and geographic descriptions, point to the accuracy of its location (GPS coordinates associated with approximate address 5557 Pontroel, Carnoët). The site, although not explicitly mentioned as open to the public in the documents consulted, benefits from an easily accessible location in the landscape between the valleys of the Aulne and its tributaries.

No information is available on the historical sponsors or occupants of the mot. Archival data are limited to its morphological description and heritage classification, without reference to specific events or associated characters. His study is thus mainly concerned with landscape archaeology and the history of the fortified Breton habitat between the 11th and 13th centuries.

The regional context of the Middle Ages in Brittany was marked by a fragmentation of power between local lords and ducal authorities. Castral mots, such as Rospellem's, played a key role in asserting feudal powers, serving as both seigneurial residences, royalty collection centres and points of control over communication axes. Their location near the streams, as here at the confluence of the Aulne, also facilitated the management of the water resources and surrounding agricultural land.

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