Din Lligwy (Ancient Village)

The ruins of Din Lligwy on the outskirts of Moelfre are the remains of an ancient fortified homestead which was abandoned about 1,600 years ago. Covering an area of about half an acre, enclosed by ash and sycamore trees, the site consists of the foundations of several buildings of varying shapes and sizes, all enclosed by a double wall, which was filled with rubble.

The round buildings are typically Iron Age dwellings by design and one of the rectangular buildings was a workshop used for smelting iron and iron working. It is known to have been occupied by the Romans, since excavations from 1905-1907 uncovered hundreds of broken pottery shards, metal work and glass dating from the 3rd and 4th Centuries AD. It is thought that during the Iron Age it was a farming community, and then the Romans used it for producing iron and iron working, by importing coal by boat from the Conwy area.

In her book ‘More Anglesey Ghosts’ published by Amberley in 2011, Bunty Austin describes how she saw the ghost of a Roman soldier walking around the ruins of Din Lligwy one day that she was visiting. After researching the apparition, she discovered that the Roman ghost has been seen many times over many years, by many people.

Directions: The Lligwy complex including Capel Lligwy and the Lligwy cromlech is signposted from the roundabout on the A5025 to the South west of Moelfre.