A look at the history of Castell Henllys Iron Age Village

The UK’s only Iron Age fort is in Castell Henllys and is owned and managed by the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority.

More than 2,000 years ago, the Demetae tribe lived in Pembrokeshire area and would have been living in Castell Henllys.

Cookhouse

The Demetae tribe was bordered by the more well-known Silures to the east and to the north by the Ordovices. They are believed to have been part of the first or second wave of Celtic immigrants who arrived in Britain from around 750BC, but potentially not reaching the west coast until the fourth century.

One of the few mentions of the tribe is in the Ptolemy. It is believed that around 100 people lived at Castell Henllys, including a wealthy family who would lead them. The wealthy family could have been royalty, or at least influential as ‘llys’ means palace or court.

They lived in round huts and would have been skilled in tasks such as spinning, dyeing, weaving, grinding grain to make bread and basket making, working closely with each other to ensure there was enough food and materials for all to survive.

A central fire would burn all day to ensure enough warmth and light as well as heat for cooking, and it would have been used as a place to sing and dance around and tell stories.

Their beds would have been made out of hay filled mattresses, woollen blankets and animal skins.

The group and the fort would have been defended by the warrior men of the tribe, who also would hunt animals for food.

They led what we would call a sustainable lifestyle, using the land around them.

An excavation done by archaeologists at the site of the cooks house

The roundhouses were reconstructed by archaeologists using the same kind of materials they would have initially been made out of to create a more authentic experience. The site had been excavated over a 20-year period with the remains of the roundhouses being dated to between 500BC and 1,000BC.

There are three main roundhouses, with the first at 10m in diameter and has timber inner posts. The second and third roundhouses are around 6m in diameter but do not have the timber posts. The first was excavated in 1981 and rebuilt the following year, with the remaining ones built the year after.

A farmstead was discovered next to the fort that was believed to have been used during the Romano-British period. The hill fort itself is around half an acre and is located with steep scarps to the east, south and west, with the entrance at the north.

The excavation indicated that the structures had been rebuilt a number of times during the period and a large slingshot hoard was also found.

An unusual discovery was also found of what looked like prehistoric barbed wire along the outer banks of the fort, which is relatively unknown of in Britain but common in European countries.

At the site during excavation, carbonised bone, charcoal, grain, iron objects, pottery pieces and glass beads.

The site is open to visitors who can experience what life would have been like in the roundhouses, including heading a number of costumed Iron Age dwellers who will provide their knowledge of what life was like at Castell Henllys all those years ago.