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Bryn Eryr: An Enclosed Settlement of the Iron Age on Anglesey

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 February 2014

David Longley
David Longley
Affiliation:
Gwynedd Archaeological Trust, Craig Beuno, Garth Road, Bangor, Gwynedd LL57 2RT
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Abstract

Excavations on the site of a rectangular earthwork at Bryn Eryr, Angelsey, have identified a sequence of occupation. In the Middle Iron Age a single clay-walled round-house stood within a timber stockade. By the later Iron Age a second house had been added, adjacent to the first, and these two houses became the focus of a planned settlement. A rectangular bank and ditch enclosure was established of 0.3 ha internal area. A yard developed in front of the houses, at the head of a trackway leading from the entrance. Rectangular post-built structures, perhaps granaries, were built and pits were dug to provide clay flooring and, perhaps, wall plastering for the houses. By the early 1st millennium AD the perimeter ditch had become choked with silt and the bank was eroding badly. A third house, with stone footings, was added to the south of the original two, one of which was by now out of use. Romano-British pottery, in small quantities but of good quality, was in use on the site. The farm appears to have been abandoned, after perhaps 700 years of development, during the late 3rd or 4th century AD.

Résumé

Des fouilles sur le site d'une levée de terre rectangulaire à Bryn Eryn sur l'île d‘Anglesey ont identifié une série d'occupations. Pendant la période moyenne de l'âge du fer une seule maison ronde à mur d‘argile se tenait à l'intérieur d‘une palissade de bois. On avait ajouté une deuxième maison avant la fin de l'âge du fer contiguë à la première et ces deux maisons formaient le point central d‘une habitation planifiée. Un enclos rectangulaire ayant un rempart et un fossé a été identifiée d'une superficie intérieure de 0,3 ha. Une cour a évolué devant les maisons, à la tête d'un sentier menant à partir de l'entrée. Des structures rectangulaires construites de poteaux, peutêtre des greniers, ont été construites et des fosses ont été creusées pour fournir du revêtement de sol en argile et peut-être du crépi de mur pour les maisons. Avant le début du premier millénaire de notre ère le fossé périphérique s'était bouché de vase et le rempart s'était beaucoup dégradé. Une troisième maison, à soubassements de pierre, a été ajoutée au sud aux deux maisons originales, dont l'une était maintenant hors d'usage. Des poteries romano-britanniques, dans de petites quantités, étaient en usage sur le site. Il semble que la ferme a été abandonnée, au bout de peut-être 700 ans d'évolution, vers la fin du 3ème siècle ou pendant le 4ème siècle de notre ère.

Zusammenfassung

Bei den Ausgrabungen auf dem Gelände einer rechteckigen Erdfortifikation bei Bryn Eryr, Anglesey wurde eine Reihe von Behausungen identifiziert. In der Mitte der Bronzezeit stand da ein einzelnes Rundhaus mit Lehmmauern inmitten einer Einfriedung aus Holz. Im späterem Bronzealter waren es schon zwei. Das zweite grenzte an das erste. Diese beiden Häuser wurden zum Mittelpunkt einer geplanten Niederlassung. Ein rechteckiger Wall und eine Grabeneinfriedung wurden um eine 0,3 Hektar große Innenfläche gelegt. Vor den Häusern, am Anfang eines vom Eingang führenden Pfads, entstand ein Hof. Rechteckige aus Pfosten gebauten Strukturen, vielleicht waren es Kornkammern, wurden gebaut und Gruben gegraben, um Lehm für die Böden und vielleicht auch für den Wandverputz der Häuser zu gewinnen. Im frühen ersten Millenium AD war der unzäumende Graben mit Schwemmsand verstopft und der Wall erodierte sehr. Ein drittes Haus, auf Steinbasis, wurde südlich der zwei ersten Häuser dazugebaut, eines dieser zwei ersten Häuser wurde aber nicht mehr bewohnt. Die romanisch - britischen Töpferwaren – in kleinen Mengen, aber in guter Kondition, – wurden auf diesem Gelände benützt. Es hat den Anschein, dass der Bauernhof nach vielleicht 700 Jahren der Weiterentwicklung im späten 3. oder 4. Jahrhundert n. Chr. aufgegeben wurde.

Résumen

Excavaciones llevadas a cabo en un recinto rectangular en Bryn Eryr, Anglesey, han identificado una secuencia de ocupación. A mediados de la Edad del Hiero el yacimiento consistía en una única estructura de planta redonda con paredes de barro situada dentro de una empalizada. En la tarda Edad del Hierro se añade una segunda casa, adyacente con la primera: las dos se convertirían en el foco de un nuevo asentamiento. Se construye un recinto rectangular con terraplén y foso que encierra un area de 0.3 hectareas. Frente a las casas aparece un patio, situado al principio de un camino que lleva hasta la entrada. Se levantan estructuras rectangulares de estacas, quizás graneros, y se cavan pozos para obtener el barro para los suelos y quizás también para las paredes de las casas. A comienzos del primer milenio d.C. el foso de perímetro se encuentra relleno con sedimentos y el terraplén aparece bastante erosionado. Una tercera casa, esta vez con zócalo de piedra, fue añadida en la parte sur de las dos primeras, aunque una de ellas parece fuera de uso por aquel entonces. Está documentado el uso de cerámica romano-británica en pequeñas cantidades, pero de buena calidad. La granja parece haber sido abandonada después de quizás 700 años de ocupación, durante la última parte del siglo III ó en el siglo IV d.C.

Type
Research Article
Information
Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society , Volume 64 , January 1998 , pp. 225 - 273
Copyright
Copyright © The Prehistoric Society 1998

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