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Bryn Eryr Iron Age Roundhouses

What type of building is Bryn Eryr?

Bryn Eryr is a reconstruction of an Iron Age farmstead. During the Bronze and Iron Ages, roundhouses were the most common form of home. The site held a small number of thatched roundhouses within a defensive enclosure. Bryn Eryr is based on archaeological remains excavated near Llansadwrn on Anglesey.

Bryn Eryr is an experimental reconstruction, and as the original pair of roundhouses were so close to each other, it is quite likely that they formed one building with two rooms. These buildings are sometimes called ‘figure-of-eight’ or ’conjoined roundhouses’ and have only recently been identified. As a result, very few reconstructions have been attempted. Moreover, the Bryn Eryr roundhouses have walls of rammed clay 1.8m thick – a first for reconstructed roundhouses.

Where was Bryn Eryr originally?

Bryn Eryr was a small Iron Age farmstead near Llansadwrn in the eastern corner of Anglesey.

Who lived at Bryn Eryr?

Bryn Eryr was the home of a wealthy farming family. We can tell from archaeological evidence how their wealth ebbed and flowed over generations. Initially they lived in a single roundhouse surrounded by a timber wall. Later they built a second roundhouse next to the first and upgraded the timber wall to a more permanent rectangular bank and ditch. It is this phase of their history that is recreated here.

Life was good at Bryn Eryr. The family enjoyed a level of comfort and security not available to all. They grew wheat and kept cattle, sheep and horses. Later still, as the banks were eroding and the ditch silting, a third house was built on stone footings.

How old is Bryn Eryr?

This recreation was opened to the public in 2016. Occupation at the original site in Llansadwrn, Anglesey, spanned between 400 BCE and 300CE.

Building facts

Basis for reconstruction: Archaeological excavations at Bryn Eryr, Anglesey
Date of original buildings: around 2,000 years ago

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