'Humongous' Roman fort discovered under overgrown farm field

A previously unknown Roman fort discovered in Pembrokeshire overturns assumptions that the area's indigenous Celtic tribe was on peaceful terms with the Roman invaders.

- Dalya Alberge

The site, which has excited archaeologists, had been hidden beneath an enormous, overgrown field. It explains why the land had been unsuccessful for farming. The farmer kept hitting stone.

The discovery was made by Dr Mark Merrony, a Roman specialist and tutor at Oxford University. He told the Guardian: "It is a humongous fort, an incredible find of national importance." The fort is thought to date from the first to third centuries, when the Celtic Demetae tribe inhabited the south-west area of modern Wales.

They were thought to have been pro-Roman and that there was therefore less need for a major military presence to quell local resistance.