Cave under Pembroke Castle could rewrite Britain's prehistory

Bones pulled from a cave beneath Pembroke Castle could extend Britain’s prehistory by tens of thousands of years, with early finds already including a hippopotamus bone from an animal that lived in Wales about 120,000 years ago. Archaeologists say Wogan Cavern may also hold mammoth and rhino remains, along with ancient human DNA, if the larger excavation now planned for the site confirms what the first small digs have suggested.

The University of Aberdeen is leading a five-year exploration of the cavern, which sits under the 11th Century Pembroke Castle in Pembrokeshire. Researchers have described the cave as a “truly remarkable site” and one of the best undisturbed ancient caves in the British Isles, a rare status that matters because intact cave deposits can preserve layers of Ice Age life that are often destroyed by later digging.

The discovery started in 2010, when archaeologist John Bolton visited Pembroke Castle on a family holiday and heard there was a cave below the fortress. Bolton found that Wogan Cavern showed little sign of previous excavation and “badgered” Dr Rob Dinnis, from the University of Aberdeen, to take a look. That nudge led to the first small excavations, which have already uncovered “extremely rare” evidence of early humans and animals.

The find carries weight far beyond Pembrokeshire because Britain’s Ice Age record is patchy, and archaeologists have long relied on isolated caves and scattered remains to reconstruct how people and animals survived shifting climates. A site that may preserve evidence stretching back around 120,000 years gives researchers a chance to test whether human presence, megafauna and changing habitats overlapped in this corner of Wales far earlier than the historical record currently shows.

Pembroke Castle adds another layer to the story. Known as the birthplace of Henry Tudor, it is already one of the area’s major tourist attractions, and the cavern beneath it now sits at the center of a scientific search that could reshape what is known about Britain’s ancient past. If the wider excavation delivers more bone, DNA and undisturbed sediment, Wogan Cavern could become one of the most important Ice Age sites in the country.