Two Late Prehistoric Circular Enclosures near Harlech, Gwynedd

Two late prehistoric circular enclosure settlements near Harlech, Gwynedd were excavated by the Gwynedd Archaeological Trust in 1980–81 in advance of upland pasture improvements. Both produced evidence for the change from timber to mainly stone as a building material, commonplace in upland Britain at this time. At Moel y Gerddi there was some evidence for earlier activity in the Neolithic period, but the principal occupation occurred in the mid-first millennium BC, and comprised a roughly circular timber palisade enclosing a fairly substantial timber roundhouse. As these structures deteriorated, they were consolidated and embanked with stone, but despite this the occupation did not last very long and the site was abandoned. Erw-wen a short distance away produced similar evidence but there was no Neolithic phase and the site was re-used in the Medieval period. The principal late prehistoric settlement there comprised a single large roundhouse standing within an imposing enclosure wall but whether or not this had been preceded by a timber palisade is not known. It was clear, however, that the stone roundhouse was a replacement for an earlier timber counterpart and, quite unlike Moel y Gerddi, the occupation lasted a considerable period of time, possibly two or even three centuries. Dating evidence from either site was poor, and acid soil conditions mitigated against the preservation of most finds. The sites were apparently aceramic and probably relied on pastoralism rather than arable farming. The environmental setting and background has been considered in some detail in the preceding paper with particular reference to soil pollen studies and a bog core dug near Moel y Gerddi. Typologically the sites belong to the Gwynedd stone-built hut-circle settlements and it is argued that they could mark the first appearance of these monuments in the landscape. But in any case, the use of timber as witnessed here, was far more commonplace than has previously been supposed on these sites.