PEMBROKE Castle, the birthplace of Henry VII, will witness the first archaeological excavations for 70 Years from tomorrow, September 3.

Western Telegraph:

Dyfed Archaeological Trust, funded by the Castle Studies Trust, starts a two-week excavation on September 3.

The excavations and topographic survey will further advance the understanding of one of Wales’s and the UK’s most iconic castles and birth place of Henry VII.

Tantalising glimpses of what lies beneath the surface were revealed in aerial photographs in 2013, with parch marks revealing the outline of a possible late medieval double-winged hall house.

Western Telegraph:

This was further confirmed by geophysical surveys carried out by Dyfed Archaeological Trust, funded by the Castle Studies Trust, in 2016.

Under the guidance of castle expert Neil Ludlow, Dyfed Archaeological Trust, helped by a team of volunteers, will put in two trenches to understand more about the form, date, context and function of the remains.

Additionally, they will do a topographic survey to make a detailed record of the layout of the castle.

Neil said: “The geophysical survey carried out in Pembroke Castle, in 2016, funded by the Castle Studies Trust, showed a large, winged building that resembles, in plan, a late-medieval manor house. This is an unusual find within a castle, and has additional significance at Pembroke as the possible birthplace of King Henry VII.

“But this is still guesswork, as nothing else about the building is known. All we really know is that it was excavated in the 1930s without records. Thanks to the support of the Castle Studies Trust, some of these questions will be answered as well as learning more about later medieval high-status living.”

Castle Manager Jon Williams said: “Our visitors have all been asking about the marks on the ground, and it has been nice to be able to explain that we are now going to excavate the site. It is very exciting for us as nothing like this has been achieved in the castle since the 1930s”.