Ancient cave, hippo bones found under castle: "Once-in-a-lifetime discovery"

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A prehistoric hidden cave and hippo bones recovered beneath a Welsh castle could alteration knowing of past beingness successful Britain, researchers said Thursday, calling the tract a "once-in-a-lifetime discovery."

Previous small-scale excavations astatine Pembroke Castle – the birthplace of Henry Tudor and a fashionable tourer attraction – person already uncovered grounds of aboriginal humans and animals, including a present extinct hippopotamus that roamed Wales 120,000 years ago.

A large five-year archaeological project led by the University of Aberdeen volition analyse the "enormous" cave, accessed via a spiral staircase from the 11th Century castle.

"There is nary different tract similar it successful Britain -- it is simply a once-in-a-lifetime discovery," said Rob Dinnis, who volition pb the project.

The cave, antecedently thought to person been emptied by the Victorians, is present described arsenic "one of the astir important prehistoric archives successful Britain."

"Despite the constricted enactment done truthful far, we tin already accidental that Wogan Cavern is simply a genuinely singular site," Dinnis said successful a statement. "Not lone is determination highly uncommon grounds for aboriginal Homo sapiens, determination are besides hints astatine adjacent earlier quality occupation, astir apt by Neanderthals."

"We person besides recovered hippo bones, which astir apt day to the past interglacial period, astir 120,000 years ago," helium added.

Earlier finds person revealed bones of mammoth, woolly rhinoceros, reindeer and chaotic horse, alongside chromatic tools and grounds of quality concern crossed aggregate periods.

"Bones of mammoth and reindeer person been recovered alongside chromatic tools near down by immoderate of the earliest Homo sapiens ever to inhabit Britain," the castle said successful a statement.

With larger-scale excavation owed to resume successful May, the researchers said they anticipation to summation "insights into past clime change, extinct species, and the aggregate periods erstwhile humans called the cave their home."

They said the tract could illustration a agelong series of quality activity, from hunter-gatherers aft the past Ice Age astir 11,500 years agone to immoderate of Britain's earliest Homo sapiens betwixt 45,000 and 35,000 years ago, and perchance adjacent earlier Neanderthal presence.

"Wogan Cavern provides a unsocial accidental to usage each the technological techniques present disposable to archaeologists," said prof Kate Britton of the University of Aberdeen.

"Because the bones are good preserved, we tin larn a batch astir past environments and ecosystems," she added.

At Pembroke Castle, unit accidental the find adds a caller magnitude to the site's agelong past arsenic a medieval fortress and birthplace of Henry VII successful 1457.

"This is incredibly breathtaking quality for everyone astatine the castle," said castle manager Jon Williams. "We are thrilled that enactment connected this fantastic cave volition continue."

The task adds to caller technological revelations astir our ancestors.

A study released earlier this year concluded that fossils discovered successful Morocco dating backmost much than 773,000 years bolster the mentation that Homo sapiens primitively appeared successful Africa. Neanderthals mostly lived successful Europe, portion much caller additions to the family, the Denisovans, roamed Asia.

In November, scientists said precocious discovered fossils beryllium that a mysterious ft recovered successful Ethiopia belongs to a little-known, precocious named past quality comparative who lived alongside the taxon of the celebrated Lucy.

In 2022, researchers concluded that Neanderthals and humans lived alongside each different successful France and Spain for up to 2,900 years, giving them plentifulness of clip to perchance larn from oregon adjacent breed with each other.

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