The Sarn-y-Bryn Caled timber circle was initially identified as a cropmark in grass field (there was nothing of the circle visible on the surface). The site consisted of a circular setting of 20 post pits with a diameter of about 17m, with some disturbance at the centre in the alluvial plain of the River Severn.
In 1990 the site was totally excavated by the Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust (CPAT) in advance of the construction of the Welshpool Relief Road.