Meillionydd : A Late Bronze and Iron Age double ringwork enclosure in northwest Wales

Excavations at the Late Bronze Age and Iron Age double ringwork enclosure of Meillionydd have revealed a complex stratigraphy with 12 building phases. These show the development from an unenclosed settlement with timber buildings to a lightly enclosed one surrounded by two ditches and a wooden palisade. At a later phase the timber buildings are replaced by stone-built roundhouses and the enclosure is transformed into a double ringwork consisting of two earth and rubble banks with an elaborate in-turned entrance through the inner bank. This type of monumentalisation is commonly associated with a rise in social status and wealth. However, while the inner bank does not seem to have been in use for long as the entrance is blocked by a roundhouse in the following phase, this does not necessarily indicate a decline in status. Defensive features have been left to decay at other sites like Collfryn while new enclosures were being built. Hence, there must be another explanation for why the previous structures were no longer maintained. Assuming that social status was inheritable in Britain, as it was in Gaul, eroding banks could be interpreted as a sign of pedigree that indicated the long-lasting importance of a settlement. Another interesting pattern can be seen in the distribution of finds at Meillionydd. While stone tools are found all over the site, other types of finds are rarer and found solely in specific contexts. Of particular interest are the iron objects from the inner ditch and the concentrations of finds around two stone lined (storage) pits. The objects found in these contexts are common grave goods in the Iron Age period. In addition, graves in settlement contexts are often found in enclosures and storage pits. However, since the soil on site is very acidic organic matter does not usually survive, though analysis of soil chemistry suggests that the concentrations of finds around the pits could indeed indicate the presence of burials.