Tintagel Castle: archaeologists begin vital dig to find out about historic site's past
An archaeological dig is taking place at Tintagel Castle to find out more about how its people lived in the early centuries of the last millennium.
The project - organised by English Heritage - is part of five years of research into the Cornish Castle.
Onsite excavations and cutting edge techniques will form part of the first major research project at the castle for nearly twenty years.
Over the summer trenches will be dug into two terrace areas of the island settlement which have never been excavated before.
The organisers of the dig - the Cornwall Archaeological Unit - are hoping the research into the carefully chosen areas will reveal more about how the people of Tintagel lived in the 5th and 6th centuries AD after the fall of the Roman Empire.
The terraces include buildings believed to date from that time and previous research suggests there are the outlines of buildings buried there.
English Heritage hope to discover evidence for how and when the buildings were built and what they may have been used for.
Previous excavations have uncovered thousands of pieces of pottery at Tintagel - with the vast majority dating from the 5th to 7th centuries and imported from the Mediterranean.
Once the trenches are dug, samples of soil, ceramics, glass, iron, bone and molluscs will be collected and sent for analysis, and tiny samples of carbon will be used for accurate radiocarbon dating.
Win Scutt from English Heritage said:
"This is the most significant archaeological project at Tintagel since the 1990s. The three week dig this summer is the first step to answer some key questions about Tintagel and Cornwall's past."
"We'll be testing the dig sites to plan more advanced excavations next year, getting a much clearer picture of the footprint of early medieval buildings on the island, and gathering samples for analysis."
"It's when these samples are studied in the laboratory that the fun really starts, and we'll begin to unearth Tintagel's secrets."