Researchers say a hidden cave at a UK castle in Wales may be one of the most important prehistoric sites ever found in Britain, with evidence of human and animal life stretching back more than 100,000 years.
The site has already yielded bones from species including mammoths, woolly rhinoceroses, wild horses, reindeer, and a hippopotamus that roamed the region around 120,000 years ago.
Stone tools and signs of repeated human settlement have also been recovered, pointing to occupation across several distinct periods.
Scientists believe the earliest visitors may have been Neanderthals, followed later by early Homo sapiens who used the cave between 45,000 and 35,000 years ago. Hunter-gatherers are thought to have sheltered there again after the last Ice Age, around 11,500 years ago.
An unmatched find
Dr. Rob Dinnis of the University of Aberdeen, who led the initial digs and will direct the new project, said there is no comparable site anywhere in Britain. He said the cave offers a rare window into how early humans lived and responded to dramatic environmental change over tens of thousands of years.
The hippo bones, Dinnis explained, likely date to a warmer climate period roughly 120,000 years ago. He said remains from that era, combined with evidence of later human activity, could help explain how shifts in climate shaped both wildlife populations and human behavior across a very long timeline.
Professor Kate Britton, an archaeological science specialist at the same university, said the quality of preservation at the site opens the door to a wide range of modern scientific methods.
She noted that ancient genetic material was confirmed to have survived in both the skeletal remains and the cave sediment, making detailed analysis of past ecosystems and precise dating possible.
Five-year dig set to unlock cave’s full prehistoric record
Wogan Cavern sits beneath Pembroke Castle and is reached through an interior staircase. Excavations between 2021 and 2024 overturned a long-held belief that Victorian-era activity had left little worth studying. Those limited digs found sediment layers largely intact, far more than anyone had expected.
A five-year project funded by the Calleva Foundation and led by the University of Aberdeen is now set to expand that work significantly. The Pembroke Castle Trust is growing its team and preparing facilities to house the collection locally.
The castle, already known as the birthplace of Henry Tudor, is a popular destination, and officials say the project marks a major new phase in its history. The team plans to begin field work in late May.
See all the latest news from Greece and the world at Greekreporter.com. Contact our newsroom to report an update or send your story, photos and videos. Follow GR on Google News and subscribe here to our daily email!
