Hut Circle Settlement East of Dinas-y-Prif

Cadw's description

Summary description and reason for designation

The following provides a general description of the Scheduled Monument.

The monument comprises the remains of an enclosed settlement of multiple hut circles, which probably dates from the Iron Age/Romano-British period, the first millennium BC. The settlement contains both circular and rectangular huts defined by low turfed banks.

The enclosure is roughly rectangular, approximately 30m long from NE to SW and 23m wide. In the S angle is a circular hut approximately 7.5m in diameter; in the W angle, adjacent to that hut on the NW, is an oval area, 9.75m by 7.5m, perhaps a yard or the site of another building. A rectangular building 8.25m long from NW to SE by 4.5m wide occupies the E angle of the enclosure, and has an entrance 1.2m wide in the middle of its SW wall.

The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of prehistoric settlement practices. It is a rare survival in the lowlands of Gwynedd, complementing the more extensive survivals in the uplands. It is an important relic of the prehistoric landscape and retains significant archaeological potential, especially since it has not been disturbed by cultivation. There is a strong probability of the presence of environmental and structural evidence, including preserved internal and external floor levels. Its association with Dinas-y-Prif immediately to the west adds significantly to its importance in a wider settlement complex.

The scheduled area comprises the remains described and areas around them within which related evidence may be expected to survive.