Castell Bryn Gwyn is located in a field close to the A4080 road between the villages of Dwyran and Brynsiencyn, Anglesey,
North Wales. The site has a long and varied history being occupied since the late 3rd millennium BC, as evidenced by
flints and pottery finds from beneath the defensive bank. Indeed a farmhouse occupies part of the site to this day.
Although sometimes described as Castell Bryn Gwyn Hillfort, it is definitely
not a hillfort, being on level ground at the
bottom of a hill. But excavations have shown that the site is similar in form
to hillfort defences with a clay and gravel
bank 10m wide and 2m high surrounding a level area 17m in diameter. It was originally
surrounded by a deep ditch that is now no longer visible. Cadw, the Welsh Heritage
organisation, believes the site was also occupied during both the Iron Age and
the Roman Period, and others have suggested it might be the site of the castle
built by King Olaf, grandfather of Gruffudd ap Cynan.
There is little to see at the site and indeed I will have to return to take a picture when the sun casts a shadow in order to give a better representation of the bank!
I would suggest visiting the site in conjunction with the other "Brynsiencyn" sites including the Bryn Gwyn Stones, Caer Leb and the Bodowyr Neolithic Burial Chamber.
Cadw Website >