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Ynys Leurad Hut Circles is a Roman settlement in Wales comprising a cluster of small circular or oval dwellings characteristic of the settlement pattern adopted by rural communities during the Roman occupation. The site lies on terrain underlain by Precambrian mica schist, part of Wales's ancient metamorphic bedrock formed hundreds of millions of years before the Roman period. This hard, foliated rock would have provided ready stone for construction and field clearance, shaping both the building techniques and the landscape management visible in the settlement layout.
The hut circles themselves represent a settlement type common in Roman Wales, where native communities continued traditional domestic architecture alongside broader engagement with Roman administration and economic systems. Individual structures typically measure between five and ten metres in diameter, with low stone foundations marking their former positions. The clustering of these dwellings suggests a nucleated community focused on pastoral farming, exploiting the local slopes and valleys for grazing land.
The monument is protected by Cadw, the Welsh heritage and monuments service, under the reference AN035. Surviving earthworks and stone foundations remain visible across the site, providing evidence of domestic life during the Roman period in this upland Welsh region. The persistence of traditional round-house architecture demonstrates how local building practices persisted even as the wider landscape became integrated into the Roman provincial system.
Ynys Leurad Hut Circles is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference AN035. View the official record →
Ynys Leurad Hut Circles is a Roman settlement in Wales comprising a cluster of small circular or oval dwellings characteristic of the settlement pattern adopted by rural communities during the Roman occupation. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Cadw under reference AN035.
Ynys Leurad Hut Circles dates from the roman period, and is classified as a hut circle settlement. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Ynys Leurad Hut Circles is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Cadw — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in Wales. The official designation reference is AN035.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including The Holyhead Road: quay on the Stanley Embankment (1.1 km), Tre-Arddur Hut Group (1.7 km), Newlands Fish Weir (2.2 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Ynys Leurad Hut Circles's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Ynys Leurad Hut Circles stands on Precambrian mica, bedrock that formed in the Precambrian. The rock here is mica schist; undifferentiated metamorphic.