Welcome to the official page for the Wogan Cavern excavations!
Croeso i’r dudalen swyddogol ar gyfer cloddiadau Ceudwll Wogan!
Our new excavations have shown that Wogan Cavern is a nationally important archaeological site, especially for its record of early prehistoric occupation.
Mae ein cloddiadau newydd wedi dangos bod Ceudwll Wogan yn safle archaeolegol sydd o bwys cenedlaethol, yn enwedig am ei hanes o anheddu cynhanesyddol.
The CaveWogan Cavern lies underneath Pembroke Castle, southwest Wales. A lot is known about the castle, but until recently very little was known about the cave.
During the thirteenth century a wall was built across the cave’s mouth, and a spiral stairway constructed to access it from the castle above. However, we know the cave was also used many times before then. Its large size and flat floor would have made it a very useful space. There were some early archaeological excavations in the cave, but these are extremely poorly documented. We aren’t sure who dug and when, and it is unknown how extensive this work was. All that remains from these early digs is a handful of stone tools, bones and fragments of pottery. |
Yr OgofLleolir Ceudwll Wogan o dan Gastell Penfro, yn ne-orllewin Cymru. Ceir llawer o wybodaeth am y castell ond, tan yn ddiweddar, nid oedd fawr o wybodaeth ar gael am yr ogof.
Yn ystod y drydedd ganrif ar ddeg, codwyd mur ar draws ceg yr ogof, ac fe adeiladwyd grisiau tro i gael mynediad iddi o’r castell uwchben. Fodd bynnag, gwyddom fod yr ogof wedi cael ei defnyddio sawl gwaith cyn hynny. Byddai ei maint sylweddol a’i llawr gwastad wedi’i gwneud yn lle defnyddiol iawn. Ceir tystiolaeth o rywfaint o waith cloddio archaeolegol cynnar yn yr ogof, ond ychydig iawn o gofnodion sy’n bodoli am hyn. Nid ydym yn siŵr pwy oedd wedi gwneud y gwaith cloddio, a phryd, ac nid oes unrhyw wybodaeth am ba mor helaeth oedd y gwaith hwn. Y cwbl sydd ar ôl o’r cloddiadau cynnar hyn yw llond llaw o arteffactau cerrig, esgyrn a darnau o grochenwaith. |
Reconstruction of early Homo sapiens hunter-gatherers in Wogan Cavern during the last Ice Age. (Illustration: Abi Pate).
Atgynhyrchiad o helwyr-gasglwyr Homo sapiens cynnar yn Ogof Wogan yn ystod yr Oes yr Iâ ddiwethaf (darlun: Abi Pate).
Atgynhyrchiad o helwyr-gasglwyr Homo sapiens cynnar yn Ogof Wogan yn ystod yr Oes yr Iâ ddiwethaf (darlun: Abi Pate).
Our Work So FarNew excavations in Wogan Cavern started in 2021. Our aim was to establish the cave’s archaeological status. Can we tell where the artefacts from the old excavations came from? Has the cave been dug out, or do archaeological deposits remain in place?
Although our excavations have been limited, it is clear that Wogan Cavern is a very important site. We have found surviving evidence for historic activity, including during the Roman period, as well as much older material. In some parts of the cave we found a layer of debris left by people around 11,000 years ago. These people were hunter-gatherers who depended on wild resources, and so lived a very different life from us today. We also found stone tools from an even earlier hunter-gatherer occupation, by one of the first groups of humans like us (Homo sapiens) to occupy Britain. This was during the last Ice Age when environments were very different from today. Alongside the stone tools we found bones of woolly mammoth, horse and reindeer. Early Homo sapiens archaeological caves are extremely rare in Britain. Known sites were dug out during early excavations, meaning modern archaeological methods cannot now be used. Because it retains intact deposits, Wogan Cavern therefore offers a unique chance to use these methods and learn much more about our early prehistoric past. |
Ein Gwaith Hyd YmaDechreuodd cloddiadau newydd yng Ngheudwll Wogan yn 2021. Ein nod oedd canfod statws yr ogof o safbwynt archaeolegol. Oes modd i ni gael gwybod o ble daeth yr arteffactau o’r cloddiadau? Ydy’r ogof wedi cael ei chloddio, neu ydy’r dyddodion archaeolegol yn dal i fod yn eu lle?
Er mai cyfyngedig fu ein gwaith cloddio, mae’n amlwg bod Ceudwll Wogan yn safle pwysig iawn. Daethom o hyd i dystiolaeth sydd wedi goroesi o weithgaredd hanesyddol, sy’n cynnwys hynny o’r cyfnod Rhufeinig, yn ogystal â deunydd llawer hynach. Mewn rhai rhannau o’r ogof, daethom o hyd i haen o falurion a adawyd gan bobl tua 11,000 o flynyddoedd yn ôl. Helwyr-gasglwyr oedd y bobl hyn, oedd yn dibynnu ar adnoddau gwyllt, ac felly roeddent yn byw bywyd gwahanol iawn i ni heddiw. Daethom o hyd i arteffactau cerrig hefyd, o gyfnod anheddu cynharach fyth gan helwyr-gasglwyr, oedd yn un o’r grwpiau cyntaf o bobl fel ni (Homo sapiens) i anheddu Prydain. Roedd hyn yn ystod yr Oes Iâ ddiwethaf pan oedd yr amgylchedd yn wahanol iawn i hynny a geir heddiw. Ochr yn ochr â’r arteffactau cerrig, daethom o hyd i esgyrn mamoth blewog, ceffyl a charw. Mae ogofâu archaeolegol Homo sapiens cynnar yn eithriadol o brin ym Mhrydain. O ganlyniad i’r modd yr oedd safleoedd hysbys wedi’u cloddio yn ystod gwaith cloddio cynnar, ni ellir defnyddio dulliau archaeolegol modern bellach. Felly, yng Ngheudwll Wogan, gan fod dyddodion yn dal i fod yn gyflawn yno, mae’n cynnig cyfle unigryw i ddefnyddio’r dulliau hyn, ac i ddysgu llawer mwy am ein gorffennol cynhanesyddol cynnar. |
The site team in 2022.
Tîm y safle yn 2022.
Tîm y safle yn 2022.
News - Newyddion
We will be updating the site with news about our work when we can, so check back regularly!
Byddwn yn diweddaru’r safle gyda newyddion am ein gwaith fel y gallwn, felly cymerwch olwg arno’n rheolaidd!
Byddwn yn diweddaru’r safle gyda newyddion am ein gwaith fel y gallwn, felly cymerwch olwg arno’n rheolaidd!
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New excavation this summer!We have now fixed dates for this summer's excavation. For four weeks over June and July we will be testing new areas of the cave, to find out more about how much of it remains undisturbed. Fingers crossed for some exciting new discoveries!
(April 2024) |
Listen to a podcast about our work!We had the team from History Hit to visit during our excavations in summer 2023 - you can now listen to the interviews we did, and find out more about the context of our discoveries, on The Ancients podcast.
You can listen here or on most major podcast providers. (February 2024) |
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Another chance to learn about the project!Dr Rob Dinnis is giving another online talk about Wogan Cavern at 7:30pm on Wednesday 21st February. Like the previous talk it will outline our work so far and explain why the initial results of our post-excavation work are so exciting.
Tickets are available here. (February 2024) |
Learn more about the project!There will be another free online talk from Dr Rob Dinnis at 6pm on Monday 13 November. The talk will outline our work so far, explaining why the site is so valuable to archaeology, providing an update on this year's excavations and what lies ahead in 2024.
Tickets are free but you must register here to secure your place. (October 2023) |
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We're published!We're pleased to announce that our Cave and Karst Science article about the 2022 Wogan Cavern excavations is now available.
Download a copy below. 
(October 2023)
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Learn more about the project!There will be a free online talk at 6pm on Monday 3 July about our work so far, including updates on the 2023 excavations currently underway.
Tickets are available here. (June 2023) |
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New Excavations in 2023 and 2024!
We are delighted to announce that our excavations will continue in 2023 and 2024. This is thanks to new funding from the Natural History Museum and the Pembroke Castle Trust.
Gwaith Cloddio yn 2023 a 2024!
Mae’n bleser cael cyhoeddi y bydd ein cloddiadau’n parhau yn 2023 a 2024. Mae hyn oherwydd haelioni ariannol y Natural History Museum ac Ymddiriedolaeth Castell Penfro.
