Llys Rhosyr facts for kids
Llys Rhosyr, also known as "Cae Llys", is an amazing ancient site near Newborough in Anglesey, Wales. It's where the ruins of a royal court from a very long time ago were discovered. This court belonged to the Kingdom of Gwynedd, a powerful Welsh kingdom before King Edward I took over Wales.
The Welsh word llys first meant an open area surrounded by a fence. But over time, it started to mean a place where important legal meetings happened. Eventually, it became known as a royal "court," a place where kings and queens lived and made decisions.
Experts believe Llys Rhosyr was a very important center before King Edward I's conquest of Wales. Archaeologists, who are like history detectives, from the Gwynedd Archaeological Trust think it was a royal home. They have even created an exhibition to show what they've found. Their digs show that the site had a large hall, places to live, and storage buildings. These were first built using stone and wood. The whole area might have been as big as 450 feet by 300 feet!
The Mystery of the Sandstorm
In the winter of 1332, a huge sandstorm hit the area. It buried Llys Rhosyr and much of the land around it. This might be why people stopped using the site so much during the 1300s.
Hundreds of years later, in the early 1700s, a writer named Henry Rowlands mentioned the site. He said that the sands had uncovered some parts of the walls. But there weren't many big ruins to see. Still, local people knew about the place. They sometimes called it 'llys' or 'cae'r llys', which means 'the field of the court' in English.
Digging Up the Past
Archaeologists from the Gwynedd Archaeological Trust started digging at Llys Rhosyr in 1992. In 1995, the site was opened to the public for the first time. Today, you can see the outlines of the old walls. Only about a quarter of the site has been uncovered. This includes the main outer wall and the foundations of three big buildings. These were probably the main hall, a living area, and storage barns.
During the excavations, many interesting artifacts were found. These included pottery and silverware, which show that important people lived there. They also found lead fishing weights. Llys Rhosyr is special because it's the only royal court of Gwynedd that has been dug up and studied so far!
Bringing History Back to Life
A full-size copy of the Great Hall of Llys Rhosyr was built in St Fagan's National History Museum in Cardiff. This project was part of a big plan to update the museum. It was made possible by a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund in 2012.
The idea was that the new building, with its 9-meter-high walls, could even let groups stay overnight! The hall and a nearby room were copied from the two most completely dug-up buildings at the real Llys Rhosyr site.
The reconstructed building opened to visitors in October 2018. The very first group to spend the night there were children and teachers. They came from Ysgol Santes Dwynwen School in Newborough, Anglesey, in May 2019.
