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Defence to domesticity: Exploring the evolution of Irish castles

Marking the 1,000th anniversary of the birth of William the Conqueror, 2027 has been designated the Year of the Normans. Events to mark the millennium are planned all over Europe, with castles as a major theme. In Ireland, the best guide to the hundreds of defended structures surviving from the Anglo-Norman invasion of 1169 is the late David Sweetman, Ireland’s former Chief Archaeologist, whose book on The Medieval Castles of Ireland reveals how these 12th- and 13th-century symbols of Anglo-Norman power evolved from earthworks to commodious towers that dominated the landscape. Chris Catling reports.

Barbican uncovered in Chichester

The remains of a stone tower have been discovered during a recent archaeological dig in Chichester’s Priory Park. They are believed to be the remains of a barbican that would have been used to defend the West Sussex city’s Norman…

The Past

Remains of historic mill revealed at Tamworth Castle

The dig has also unearthed numerous finds dating from the mid-1800s to the early 1900s, including bottles, animal bones, and clay pottery.

The Past

Visitors invited to enjoy tales by lantern light at Tamworth Castle

Visitors can craft their own lanterns in a 30-minute workshop, before taking their creations on a tour of the castle whilst accompanied by a storyteller.

A story of two castles: tracing the origins of two fortifications in the March of Ewyas

Straddling the border between Herefordshire and Monmouthshire in the lee of the Black Mountains, the parish of Longtown has the remains of two castles. One is a popular visitor attraction in the care of English Heritage, with a stout-walled round keep. Half a mile away is another, in the form of a large earthen mound. When the members of the Longtown & District Historical Society decided to investigate, they realised that little was known about either castle, so they set out to find out when they were built, by whom, and why there were two in such close proximity. Current Archaeology's Chris Catling reports.

Excavating the past of south Wales

This revealed much about life in ‘Roman’ Wales, in both its modest urbanised centres and its wider hinterlands.

LEFT Overlooking the remains of a Victorian greenhouse recently excavated at Shrewsbury Castle.

Surprising finds at Shrewsbury Castle

Archaeological investigations at Shrewsbury Castle have provided surprising insights into the make-up of some of its defences. The castle was founded by the Normans and reworked in the 13th century, and the imposing ramparts, crowned with curtain walls, that surround…