Castle wall find at car park dig

There had never been hard proof there was once a castle at the site

Archaeologists and volunteers digging at a village car park believe they have found the remains of a medieval castle.

The dig at Maenclochog, at the foot of Pembrokeshire's Preseli Hills, has revealed what is thought to be part of an outer wall of the fortress.

Experts also think they have uncovered signs of a much earlier Iron Age settlement at the site.

Villagers are working with professional archaeologists for two weeks in a bid to find out more about the land.

Archaeologist Richard Jones said documentary research had suggested the village car park was once the site of a castle but there had never been hard proof.

He said since the dig started last week they had uncovered what was believed to be an outer wall of the castle, along with the hearth of a medieval house and fragments of medieval pottery.

But he said equally exciting was the discovery of what was thought to be an Iron Age settlement which would date somewhere between 700 BC and 43 AD.

"It's been really good so far - we have a lot here since we started," he added.

"There was documentary evidence of a castle being here, it was the main village in the area in the 13th Century."

But he said there was no mention of the castle in a survey of the area in the 16th Century

The grave of a dog has also been uncovered but Mr Jones said it was not possible how to say long it had been there without carbon dating - so they could not say whether it was linked with the earlier settlements.

The dig has been organised by local enterprise organisation Planed, with the help of Cambria Archaeology and Pembrokeshire National Park, thanks to EU funding.

Around 20 amateurs are taking part and at the end of each day villagers are invited to tour the site for an update on what has been found.