‘Weird, wonderful’: rare dig at Arthur’s Stone writes new story of neolithic site

Visitors flock to Herefordshire burial plot that inspired CS Lewis amid excitement at what is being found

High above one of western Britain's loveliest valleys, the silence is broken by the sound of gentle digging, scraping and brushing, along with bursts of excited chatter as another ancient feature is revealed or a curious visitor stops by to find out what is going on.

This summer archaeologists have been granted rare permission to excavate part of the Arthur's Stone site, a neolithic burial plot with soaring views across the Golden Valley in Herefordshire and the Black Mountains of south-east Wales.