The crew from Time Time has gotten permission to dig at Holyrood House, WIndsor Castle and Buckingham Palace. Several news sources had articles on the digs, which were taking place this weekend.
From The Sunday Times – History digs into royal lawns
From The Guardian – TV ‘diggers’ given access to royal premises
Another from The Guardian – Time Team digging for royal secrets
From The Scotsman – Queen orders TV’s Time Team to search for palace’s secrets
From The Australian:
Sections of the King’s Table, a symbol of royal power until it was smashed by Oliver Cromwell, have been found beneath the floor of the Palace of Westminster.
The elaborately carved stone table was used by kings and queens from the 13th century for coronation feasts and state banquets but disappeared under Puritan rule.
Full article
And another from the Scotsman
The table was still around in Tudor times and Henry VIII used it for the wedding feasts after the marriages to Catherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn.
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Archaeologists have been revealing details about the discovery of a medieval bridge in Shropshire.
…
The bridge, known as St George’s Bridge, once acted as a gateway to the town from Wales and was in existence during the 15th Century.
And why is this of interest to Tudor fans?
It is thought that future King of England, Henry Tudor, used the bridge in 1485 to enter England from Wales on his way to the battle at Bosworth.
Here’s another article, with a picture: Historic gateway discovered at dig
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The major development on the Bermondsey Square site has provided the unprecedented opportunity for archaeologists to explore this important site.
Bermondsey Abbey was founded from Cluny in France shortly after the Norman conquest.
Katherine of Valois, grandmother of Henry VII, died at Bermondsey and Elizabeth Woodville (widow of Edward IV and mother of Elizabeth of York) retired there in Henry VII’s reign.
From The Bexley Times, with some new pictures:
A ROYAL chapel last seen more than 350 years ago and used by three generations of monarchs has been uncovered by gardeners.
The original brickwork of a 16th century royal chapel, built by Henry VII, was discovered during work to relay pavements at the Old Royal naval College, Greenwich.
Full article here
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The existence of the chapel, part of the Royal Palace of Placentia, a Tudor favourite but pulled down in the 17th century to be replaced by Greenwich Hospital – now the Old Naval College – has long been known from paintings and records.
But until a bulldozer’s bucket scraped against brickwork a month ago, no physical evidence of the chapel had ever been discovered.
Full article from The Telegraph here
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There were a few more articles over the past few days about the discovery of Edward the Confessor’s tomb under the Cosmati pavement in Westminster Abbey:
From the Telegraph
From CNN
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Not strictly Tudor, but interesting!
From the BBC
Experts believe they have uncovered the tomb of England’s King Edward the Confessor in Westminster Abbey. Archaeologists using radar have also discovered a series of royal tombs dating back to the 13th and 14th centuries in under-floor chambers.
The discoveries were made as experts investigated the construction of the Abbey’s 13th-century mosaic pavement.
See the rest of the article at the link above.
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Here is some more about the relics brought up from the Mary Rose, from The Guardian.
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To follow up on yesterday’s news about the Tudor Rose figurehead from the Mary Rose, here are two articles about the other items that have been recovered on this set of dives: from the BBC (with video) and from The Guardian.
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Divers brought up the Tudor Rose last week while surveying the site before attempting to raise an anchor from the wreck. The above link goes to an article on The Guardian website.
You can learn more about the Mary Rose and its history at www.maryrose.org
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Discovered during the meeting of a metal detecting club on the Isle of Wight. Neat!
Thanks to Linda for passing this along!
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Thanks to the several people who brought this to my attention!
As the link above tells (do a search on news.google.com for “kenilworth” and “garden” to find more stories), excavations from last year have prompted researchers rethink the design of the current garden. (original links have expired and have been removed)
You can see my photo from the walls of the castle here: http://tudorhistory.org/places/kenilworth/gallery.html , taken in 1998. The garden will be reconstructed according to the new archaeological evidence, along with renovations of other parts of the property, including the 16th century gatehouse which has not been open to the public for quite some time.
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Archaeologists have received a grant to hunt for the real location of the Battle of Bosworth Field. More information is available in this article from The Guardian. I’ll post any updates I hear from the dig!
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Divers have found “the last piece of the puzzle” of the Mary Rose, Henry VIII’s ship which sank off Portsmouth in 1545 and mostly raised in 1982. (original links have expired and have been removed)
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Two articles of a recent find from Worcester Cathedral: from The Telegraph in the UK and from Yahoo! News (original link expired). Scientists hope the find will help solve the mystery of the “sweating sickness” which is thought to have claimed Arthur’s life.
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Tudor trash is an archaeologist’s treasure
Excavations in London’s Southwark district produce some interesting finds, including a banana peel that predates when the fruit was thought to have been introduced to England. Thanks to Rachel for passing this info along!
Article about excavation from Heritage Matters Magazine
Article from the Museum of London
Article about a Tudor banana also from the Museum of London
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