Gwynedd Archaeological
Trust Regional Historic Environment Record
Bryngwyn Standing Stones, Brynsiencyn
Primary Reference Number (PRN) : 3135 Trust : Gwynedd Community : Llanidan Unitary authority : Ynys Mon NGR : SH46246693 Site Type (preferred type first) : NEOLITHIC STONE CIRCLE Status : Scheduled Monument
Description : The remains of a stone circle near Bryngwyn, 2 miles west of the old church, consisting of two large upright stones; one is 13ft high, 10ft wide and 2ft thick. The other is 10ft high, 9ft wide and 4.5ft thick. (RCAHMW, 1937)
Two large standing stones 3.25m apart - recorded by Henry Rowland in the 18th century as being part of a stone circle. He suggested a circle of 8 or 9 stones. For this and other refs. see Baynes 1910. <3>
Field in which stones stand was ploughed in 1991; said to be the first time for 40yrs but turned out to have been ploughed much more recently than this. MM & DT field walked it and found practically nothing. Stones not interfered with. <8>
The 2 stones are set at an angle to each other suggesting that if they were part of a stone circle, the circle lay to the NW. There is also a 3rd smaller stone set upright at the S side of the eastern stone however this was probably set up in recent times as a gatepost or part of a gateway. (Smith, 2003)
The geophysical survey did not detect anything that can be reliably interpreted as being associated with the reported stone circle. <11>
An evaluation excavation was carried out of an area north of the two standing stones at Bryn Gwyn, based on evidence from geophysical survey of the existence of a possible curvilinear feature there. No such feature was present but three standing stone pits were found of which two contained stumps of broken-off standing stones. Two stones lay in an arc in relation to the two extant standing stones that indicated a former stone circle of 8 stones and about 16m diameter. One standing stone was not part of this arc, but lay on a different alignment, possibly orientated on the nearby Castell Bryn Gwyn henge. (Smith, 2009)
Excavations in 2010 at the two standing stones at Bryn Gwyn, Brynsiencyn, Anglesey confirmed the former presence of a stone circle c. 16m diameter consisting of 8 stones. Fragments of some former standing stones remained while others had been removed entirely. Traces were also found of later use of the circle for cremation activity. (Smith, 2011) (Caseldine et al, 2013)
Two immense standing stones set about 4.6m apart. These are: a pointed slab 4.2m high, 3.2m wide and 0.6m thick; a more massive block 3.2m high, 2.9m wide and 1.5m thick, with a flat inclined top.
This has been the conjectured site of a druidical stone circle since the early eighteenth century at least, indeed Rowlands identified elements of two circles and the RCAHMW traced a ditch and bank. Excavations by the Gwynedd Archaeological Trust in 2008 and 2011 succeeded in confirming that the monument had originally been a stone circle.
In the eighteenth century the stones supported a cottage and its garden wall. More recently they have acted as gateposts. (Cooke, 2013)
“It was of a lozenge form measuring above three yards in height and two in width. We observed none of equal dimensions near at hand but in a field at the back of the cottage there were six each about a yard high placed three and three at equal distances so as to form two exact triangles.” (Skinner, 1802) (sketch on p.12).
