Wogan Cave beneath Pembroke Castle yields early human remains

Archaeologists are excavating the Wogan Cave, a natural limestone chamber located beneath Pembroke Castle in Wales. Recent work between 2021 and 2024 uncovered stone tools and other evidence of human occupation spanning from Mesolithic hunter‑gatherers about 11,000 years ago to early Homo sapiens who lived in the region 35,000‑45,000 years ago. The cave’s sediment layers remain remarkably intact, suggesting the potential to preserve material older than 100,000 years.

A five‑year research project, directed by Robert Dinnis of the University of Aberdeen, will apply modern analytical techniques to the site. The team hopes the findings will provide new insights into the early prehistory of Britain and broader Europe, potentially reshaping current understandings of when and how the first modern humans settled the area.