WITH the completion of the Parc Glyndwr development off Rockfield Road, the archaeological importance of Monmouth's great post-glacial lake has been firmly established.

The lake was formed some 12,000 years ago and was fed with water from the melting ice sheets by the three Monmouth rivers – the Wye, the Monnow and the Troddi.

On the shore of the lake there were Stone Age, Bronze Age and Iron Age sites as well as Roman activity.

An important late discovery was part of a tree preserved in perfect condition, bark and all, below the final bed of the lake. Previously, very little timber was found above the bed of the lake or in the succeeding lagoon which filled much of Parc Glyndwr into Roman times – after the lake had drained.

A sample from the tree produced a radiocarbon date of 1361 BC which so surprised the archaeologists that they submitted another sample, costing another £300, and received a date which was easily within the margin of error – 1401 BC.

During the early days of the development at Parc Glyndwr, two hollows in the natural lime marl covering the lagoon bed were found running up to the edge of the lake. They were filled with peat and may have been where twin canoes had been moored and completely rotted away in the alternating wet and dry conditions of the lagoon.

These conditions are not found below the bed of the lake which is constantly waterlogged and therefore perfect for the preservation of organic remains.

This discovery is very important because Monmouth archaeologists believe that a Bronze Age boat building site was situated nearby on the shore of the lake. With the new evidence it seems likely that perishable items such as leather, bones or even prehistoric boats may have survived underneath the bed of the lake.

The shores of Monmouth's post-glacial lake at Parc Glyndwr have produced remains dating from around AD 195 to 2795 BC while in the town itself there are sites many thousands of years older. And now, with the

preserved log, there is a significant international potential.