Gerald of Wales while on his famous journey through Wales in 1188, made mention of two new stone castles built by the native Welsh princes. He thought it unusual because up to that time native rulers had used mostly earth and timber strongholds. Certainly what Gerald saw were among the very earliest stone castles in Gwynedd. Deudraeth, or "two sands," was probably on the site of Castell Aber Ia, near Portmerion, whose present stone tower is a 20th-century folly.
A Mirror of Medieval Wales, Gerald of Wales and his Journey of 1188, by Charles Kightly, Cadw: Welsh Historic Monuments, 2 Fitzalan Road, Cardiff CF2 1UY, 1988.
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