“Y Cestill Byrion ar (G)lan y Gors”: a multimethod study of a possible late prehistoric to Romano British lowland defended settlement site, along with other unrecorded archaeological feaures, in Llangwyllog parish Anglesey

Owen, Arwyn Parry (2023) “Y Cestill Byrion ar (G)lan y Gors”: a multimethod study of a possible late prehistoric to Romano British lowland defended settlement site, along with other unrecorded archaeological feaures, in Llangwyllog parish Anglesey. Masters by Research thesis (MA), Manchester Metropolitan University.

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Abstract

In May of 2020 a series of raised earthworks were observed on LIDAR data at Glan Gors, an abandoned farmstead within the parish of Llangwyllog. The site, recorded in the 18th century as ‘Cestyll Byrion’, consists of a series of pronounced, raised earthworks erected on a monumental scale. These were discovered to sit within a previously unrecorded archaeological landscape consisting of defensive, domestic, and ritual/funerary sites of prehistoric date onwards. Geophysical survey of the earthworks conducted between September 2021 and early 2022 revealed a complex series of anomalies indicative of a significant settlement of late prehistoric to early Roman date. Its function is currently unknown, but it is theorized to either be a large, late prehistoric defended settlement, a late prehistoric ‘marsh fort’ or a Romano British settlement. This paper intends to transform the known archaeological character of this part of Anglesey, an area which is shown to have an increasing archaeological presence following new findspot and archaeological discoveries in the region since 2018. The use of multiple resources and data collection methods including archival research, landscape analysis (via map regression analysis, aerial photography and LiDAR) along with practical fieldwork (including fieldwalking, site visits and geophysical survey) have highlighted the complex archaeological and historical character of this landscape.