Beaumaris Castle, Menai Strait

Britarch

The JiscMail Britarch forum closed on the 3rd April 2023. As closure approached without any replacment materialising, this webpage was created by Mike Haseler together with the forum. However things got strange: not only did the CBA shut down the old Britarch discussion forum, but posts informing users about new site(s) were blocked. That led to ...

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Recently on: https://groups.io/g/Britarch

The Roman ruin under a shopping centre trapdoor (Gloucester)

A Roman monument which lies underneath a trapdoor in a shopping centre has reopened to the public for the first time since 2019.

Part of Gloucester's Roman walls and a medieval defensive tower were first uncovered in 1960 when the King's Walk Shopping Centre was built.

Named the King's Bastion, the ruins lie in a chamber 3m (10 ft) below the ground, which was closed almost seven years ago due to the pandemic and subsequent flooding.

Gloucester City Council archaeologist Andrew Armstrong said it was "remarkable" the almost 2000-year-old structure still remained and described it as "one of the best-preserved standing remains of the Roman city walls of Gloucester".

Blocks of limestone for the wall from Painswick in Gloucestershire would have been set on oak timbers which still survive below ground, a "huge undertaking for its time", Armstrong said.

Posted on 20 April 2026 | 1:41 pm

'Very rare' coin hoard reveals Anglo Saxon life (Bickmarsh, Worcs.)

An "exceptionally rare" coin hoard has given new clues about life in 9th Century Worcestershire, historians have said.

At first, metal detectorists from Go Detecting (Midlands) uncovered a few silver coins in a field near Bickmarsh, close to the Warwickshire border, in 2022.

But it soon became clear there were more, and 63 coins were found in total, said Worcestershire County Council. Its archaeology team carried out surveys and excavations to investigate the site further.

Experts believe the coins, buried between AD 871 and 874, were perhaps hidden for safekeeping at "a time of trouble when Viking armies were moving across England".

Posted on 16 April 2026 | 5:05 pm

Huge hidden cave under castle with prehistoric hippo bones (Pembroke Castle)

A cave hidden beneath an 11th Century castle in Pembrokeshire is a "truly remarkable site" which could rewrite Britain's prehistory, researchers say.

Small digs of the cave under Pembroke Castle, known as Wogan Cavern, have so far uncovered "extremely rare" evidence of early humans and animals - including the bones of a hippopotamus which roamed Wales 120,000 years ago.

The University of Aberdeen will now lead a larger five-year exploration of the site, which archaeologists hope could reveal "a great deal about our early prehistoric forebears".

Posted on 16 April 2026 | 2:58 pm

Shakespeare's 'missing' home mapped with discovery (Blackfriars)

The exact location of William Shakespeare's only London property has been pinpointed to a Blackfriars street, after an unknown floorplan was discovered.

Shakespeare expert Prof Lucy Munro from King's College London identified the location and size of the property he bought in 1613.

It had been thought that Shakespeare retired from his theatre career not long after he bought the house and returned to Stratford-upon-Avon. However, academics believe the discovery could indicate that the playwright spent more time in London than previously believed.

Posted on 16 April 2026 | 8:20 am

Re: Detectorist finds haul of 'treasure' coins in field

"Will you search through the lonely earth for me ... ?"

Posted on 14 April 2026 | 1:56 pm

Detectorist finds haul of 'treasure' coins in field

A former lorry driver has relived the moment he discovered a hoard of 18 post-medieval silver coins in Derbyshire that have been declared as treasure.

Derby Coroner's Court heard on Tuesday the coins found by detectorist Tim Cox on 1 August in the parish of Longford dated from between 1564 and 1604.

As the items were more than 300 years old and at least 10% precious metal, they were deemed to meet the requirements of the Treasure Act 1996, external.

Speaking after the treasure inquest, Cox, 62, told the BBC he couldn't believe it" when he first found the collection of coins which depict the faces of monarchs Elizabeth I and James I.

Posted on 14 April 2026 | 1:53 pm