Monmouth in the Mesolithic period

The discovery has led to the conclusion that the site of Monmouth, adjoining the confluence of the rivers Monnow and Wye in south east Wales, was inhabited thousands of years earlier than previously believed.

The excavations that took place in 2010 during the course of gas main replacement work at St James' Square and Wyebridge Street drew the attention of local archaeologists.

Monmouth archaeologists, including Jane Bray and Stephen Clarke, had watched the excavation work closely and were intermittently evaluating the trenches.

Elizabeth Walker, the curator at the National Museum of Wales, initially suggested in October 2010 that the artefacts were consistent with hunter-gatherers utilizing the river for food and transport about 7,000 years ago.

[1] However, historian and author Jeremy Knight, chairman of the Monmouthshire Antiquarian Association,[7] had a slightly different take on the migratory nature of the Mesolithic settlers.

The discovery of the flints at two sites, St James' Square and Wyebridge Street, indicated that either the settlement was very large or there were two separate Stone Age camps.

In addition, it was anticipated that Wales & West Utilities, one of the largest gas pipeline companies in the British Isles, would fund the dating as well as the geological examination of the excavation site.