An archaeological dig of Pen Dinas will take place later next month after funding was secured.

An appeal was launched for volunteers to help with the dig which is aiming to learn more about the Iron Age fort, but the response has been so great, no more spaces are available for volunteers to take part.

Dyfed Archaeological Trust has secured funding from Cadw to conduct an excavation at the historic site that sits between Penparcau and the Irish Sea.

No major archaeological digs have taken place on the hill since the 1930s, but the Dyfed Archaeological Trust has announced that a dig will take place between Monday, 13 September and Friday, 1 October, with the aim of discovering what secrets the ancient hillfort hides beneath the soil.

The trust feels that the hillfort is an under-used resource in the area and it hopes that this community project will attract local involvement and interest and lead to a longer term project over the next three to four years.

Speaking to the Cambrian News earlier this year, when the project was first mooted, Ken Murphy, director of Dyfed Archaeological Trust said: “This site was dug in the 1930s but we are hoping to find more details on the site.

“Methods have improved since the last time the site was dug and we are hoping to discover more on the history of the site which is of great importance to the local area.

“I think it’s a neglected asset for the whole area.

“Although there are new signs, which is great, there’s nothing there to guide tourists or walkers in general to visit the site.”

Announcing the dates for the dig, Dyfed Archaeological Trust said: “We propose to use an archaeological excavation as the focus and attraction for direct local community involvement in the excavation itself plus wider community-based activities both during and surrounding it.”

As part of the project, the trust hopes to form a core team of local volunteers to help with the excavation and take part in engagement activities.

Volunteers will work alongside professional archaeologists to re-excavate the trenches opened in the 1930s and scientifically analyse the finds in ways that were not possible 90 years ago.

A modern topographical survey of Pen Dinas and a geophysical survey of parts of the hillfort will also be conducted along with talks, walks and events for local schools.

Dyfed Archaeological Trust also plan to host a weekend-long ‘archaeological festival’ as a climax to the project to raise the profile of the hillfort and celebrate what has been learned and achieved.

The initial three-week project will start on 13 September and will include excavation of hand dug trenches within the area of the entrance and a house platform nearby that were both excavated in the 1930s.

The works will initially entail the opening of excavation trenches by hand in targeted locations.

This will be quite hard physical work at first but there will be less difficult excavation work after the initial removal of turf and topsoil within the trenches.