#hut circle

‘Second Hand Stones’ Poem

Some of you will remember this superb reconstruction of a Iron Age hut bulit by the marvellous Abriachan Forest Trust. It stood in the forest just a few minutes walk from our place.

Sadly, this was the result of a careless visitor last Friday. The fire crew was fantastic and on site in less than 15 minutes, too late to save the hut, but able at least to stop the fire from spreading.

Din Lligwy (or Din Llugwy) hut circle is an ancientvillage site near the east coast of Anglesey, close to the village of Moelfre, North Wales.

Excavations in 1905–1907 produced hundreds of Roman-period pot sherds of the 3rd and 4th centuries CE, many repaired with iron clamps. Animal bones were found too, some made into tools and one into a musical instrument. The most important economic activity, however, appears to have been iron working, smithing and perhaps smelting.

Despite the mainly Roman finds, the origins of the settlement may well go back into the Iron Ageand it was probably a small farming community. From excavation, it seems that the round structures were probably houses and the rectangular ones barns or workshops.

For a pre-Roman site, a great deal remains including the enclosing wall and the foundations of many buildings, many of them with substantial and well made foundations constructed from the local limestone. The outer protective wall is almost intact although much reduced in height.