Nineteenth century find reported by Mrs Mary dawson in her article 'Painscastle and its Story' in Archaeologia Cambrensis Vol. LXXVIII, Pt. 1 (June 1923), pp 29-30, where she describes as follows:

'In the last century workmen digging on the site [of the castle, nprn 96534] uncovered a beautiful tessellated pavement. Unfortunately, local superstition pronounced it to be a 'fairies' pavement, and consequently it was quickly covered up again lest the fairy folk be offended and take vengeance on those who had unwittingly invaded their realm'.

In the opinion of G.W. Ridyard (correspondence to T. Driver, 2010), the earthworks of the medieval castle are so massive that it is unlikely that a pavement of Roman character would have lain undisturbed within it; therefore the find may have lain somewhere within the present village or in an adjacent field.

It seems likely that a discovery of a tessellated pavement, if correctly reported, could indicate the buried site of a Roman villa or military building.

T. Driver, RCAHMW, 8th Sept 2010.