Chichester & District Archaeology Society
Posted on 06/17/2025 7:14:22 AM PDT by SunkenCiv
Last year, excavations in Chichester's Priory Park revealed a masonry causeway and bridge that would have once led to the city's Norman-era motte and bailey castle. According to a statement released by the Chichester District Council (CDC), renewed archaeological work at the site has continued to illuminate this period in the city's history. A team recently uncovered the foundations of a stone tower, or barbican, that was built to help defend the Norman castle. It was previously thought that the castle was built solely from timber. The recent discoveries have shown that it was actually a much more substantial structure than previously thought, one built to reinforce the power of a feudal lord. Researchers are still wondering who exactly ordered the construction of such a robust castle, but they suspect it was either the Earl of Arundel in the mid-twelfth century or perhaps even King Henry II (reigned 1154–1189). "It's been a very exciting conclusion," CDC archaeologist James Kenny said. "These sorts of archaeological discoveries do not happen often in a lifetime, and it's certainly the finest piece of medieval architecture that I've ever excavated."
(Excerpt) Read more at archaeology.org ...
Nice group of topics, nothing about the Roman Empire at all. :^) Oh, btw, those are on deck. :^D
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Technology like this makes it good to be an archeologist these days. ;)
Phil and Mick would have loved digging that one
Very interesting and thanks for posting. More of a basement than a tower.
Probably why Norm didn’t see the attack coming. ;^)
Mick loved his Middle Ages. Phil loves his Neolithic. He’s still around, and has been around long enough to have helped build the tower. :^) Or at least may have dug at the site early in his career.
LIDAR too — great way to figure out where things are on a large scale, rather than trying to guess or just ignoring whole parts of the Earth’s surface. :^)
BTW, kudos to me, I restrained myself from posting the usual Chichester limerick. Found a new version too...
Norm!
:^) “What’s shakin’ Mister Peterson?”
The Normans found that what the British now call pubs were in every nook and cranny throughout England, and the locals’ “barking” (when they spoke) was even worse-sounding after they’d been in those for a while. :^)
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