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Britain’s most ancient fishing trap has been discovered off the coastline of Wales after research carried out on Google Earth.The 853ft (260m) long construction is thought to have been built 1,000 years ago, around the time of the Domesday Book, using large rocks placed on a river bed. Scientists believe large numbers of people worked together to erect the trap and it allowed them to catch plentiful numbers of fish for their supper.The trap in the estuary of the River Teifi, near Cardigan, West Wales, lay undiscovered for a millennium until a strange underwater shape was spotted from a plane flying overhead. Archaeologists were called in and looked at the area using Google Earth. They found a huge V-shape was clearly visible on the satellite images and divers were sent down to examine the structure. The discovery has given them a fascinating glimpse into how medieval communities survived through hunting and fishing. Fish swam into the estuary but became trapped by the outgoing tide before being hooked out using nets. Dr Ziggy Otto, a marine environment lecturer at Pembrokeshire College who examined the trap, said: “A large, underwater structure was identified on aerial photographs and there can be little doubt that this rather impressive, and quite apparently man-made, structure is an ancient fish trap. ”Its age is unknown but because of its now entirely sub-tidal position this fish trap is very old, possibly dating back more than 1,000 years, when the sea level was lower. ”It would have taken a number of fishermen to work on a structure of this size.