THE remains of 19 people which were discovered at an ancient burial ground at Harlech Castle in 2013 are still being investigated by archaeologists.

The remains were found below ground level during the building of the new visitor centre on the old grounds of the Queen’s Hotel.

Three years later, investigations are still continuing to establish who the people were.

A spokesperson for castle owners CADW said: “The excavations revealed seven phases of occupation: a sub-circular stone (Phase 1), a small group of features that either immediately pre-dated the construction of the castle or were associated with it (Phase 2), the remains of a possible medieval chapel and associated walls (Phase 3), inhumation burials from a cemetery located to the south of the chapel and domestic activity located further to the south-east (Phase 4), a later phase of inhumation burials (Phase 5) and 18th and 19th century structural developments (Phase 6) and modern activity (Phase 7).

“The Phase 4 burials contained the remains of up to ten individuals, some of the graves were intercutting, indicating an extended period or burial practice and all of the bodies were aligned east/west (Christian). Later burials (Phase 5) were also excavated, revealing the remains of up to nine individuals.”

The spokesperson added: “It takes some time to analyse the results, particularly when human remains are recovered, as they need to be assessed and then appropriate samples need to be selected for dating.

Read the full story in this week’s Meirionnydd edition of the Cambrian News