'Lost' medieval church discovered

A team from Lampeter University will investigate the site during the summer

Archaeologists have discovered the remains of a so-called "lost" medieval village church in Ceredigion.

A team from Lampeter University found the 12th Century building after carrying out a geophysical survey which located it underground in a field.

In the village of Swyddffynnon, near Aberystwyth, it is believed to be Capel y Groes, which was last recorded on officials maps in the 1840s.

Investigations are expected to continue through the summer.

The church was found by staff and students during a two-week field project last month, but details of their find have only just emerged.

The building is not visible above ground, but a geophysical survey located the church's foundations in an empty field near a farm called Ty Mawr.

Medieval village

Research by the Strata Florida Landscape Project, led by the university's Professor David Austin and Dr Jemma Bezant, has found that Swyddffynnon was the site of a medieval village.

Dr Bezant said the church was probably a grange chapel built by monks from nearby Strata Florida Abbey in 1165.

"We would like to thank the Countryside Council for Wales along with all the locals and landowners who have been very supportive of this project and would encourage more people to get involved during the summer," said Dr Bezant.

The field project has also revealed a number of other archaeological sites that have never before been recorded.

This includes two possible prehistoric enclosures, two Bronze Age burnt mounds, house platforms, ruined buildings, trackways and quarries.

The team also investigated the site of a medieval corn mill.