AN archaeological did has attracted the attention of the MP and MS for Ceredigion.

Ben Lake MP and Elin Jones MS joined archaeological experts from the University of Wales Trinity Saint David to see first-hand how excavation work at a site near Talsarn, in the Aeron Valley, is going.

The did at Llanllyr is part of a project called Portalis, a cross-border project exploring the earliest links between Wales and Ireland.

Professor Martin Bates is leading a team of researchers, students and community volunteers at the dig, as they seek to solve and uncover more of Ceredigion’s hidden history.

Previously the team have discovered artefacts including a series of stone tools dating back to a time before farmers arrived in Ceredigion, to a period archaeologists call the Mesolithic. This year the team has uncovered a pit containing charcoal dated to the late Neolithic period, when farmers had arrived in Ceredigion.

Elin Jones and Ben Lake were invited to the site to meet Professor Bates and his team, to hear more about the Portalis project and the work being carried out in Talsarn.

Professor Bates said afterwards: “It was great to be able to showcase the early prehistoric record in Ceredigion to Elin and Ben. Our excavations are focusing on a relatively poorly understood period in our county’s past. By linking our excavations to records of vegetation and climate change we hope to get a better understanding of the impact of humans on our landscape when the first farmers arrived.”

A keen history enthusiast, Ben Lake said: “It was a real pleasure to visit the project at Llanllyr, and to see Ceredigion’s pre-historic past being unearthed. The team have already made discoveries that provide important insights about life in the area back in the Stone Age, and they are to be commended for the way in which they are sharing these discoveries with the local community. I am looking forward to learning more about their work as the project comes to a conclusion.”

Elin Jones said: “Seeing the excavation site at Talsarn brought archaeology very much to life. The evidence available in the soil at Talsarn shows the thousands of years when people have lived on the land of Ceredigion and their way of life over those years. Knowing more about that enriches our understanding of our history and our use of the land - and that is particularly important in a time of new climate.

“We’re lucky to have the expertise at hand at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David to undertake the work of digging and interpreting the discoveries.”

Gwilym Dyfri Jones, Provost of the university’s Lampeter and Carmarthen campuses added: “We were delighted to welcome Elin and Ben to Talsarn to witness some of the excellent work being carried out here by Martin and the team as part of this wonderful project.

“Portalis is an exciting cross-border, transdisciplinary project that explores the record of some of the earliest people in Ireland and Wales.

“The partnership delivering the project unites in the shared purpose of citizen led co-development of fully inclusive activities tailored to the needs of our communities and visitors.

“We’re very excited to see how this project develops.”