Bryn y Castell is a small hillfort near Ffeistiniog, Merionnydd, located on the Roman Road known as Sarn Helen. The fort is enclosed by a stone wall about 24 by 32 meters. Excavations revealed evidence for iron smelting and smithing, dating between 50BC and 50AD. The fort’s defenses were always relatively simple, consisting of a stone rampart encircling the top of the hill. The original 2m-wide gate near the north-east corner was blocked early in the history of the occupation and a new one made 9m further west. The fort dominates this particular valley, but it is not generally visible from elsewhere. The fort contains multiple roundhouses, including one that resembles a spiraling snail shell, which was adapted as a smithy from an earlier roundhouse. Based on these postholes, archaeologists believe that two of the round houses were wooden, which Read more…