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

Bronze Age shield found in peat bog returned to Scotland for first time in over 230 years (Beith, North Ayrshire)

A Bronze Age shield found in a peat bog has been returned to Scotland for the first time in more than 230 years.

The "spectacular and intricate" combat guard was discovered during labouring work in a field in Beith, North Ayrshire, in about 1779 and was presented to the Society of Antiquaries of London in 1791 where it has remained since.

It has now been loaned to the National Museum of Scotland (NMS) for the first time as part of an exhibition entitled "Scotland's First Warriors," which is due to open this summer.

 

(And audio: 04:10).

Posted on 30 March 2026 | 12:59 pm

Roadside milestone gets 'important' listed status (Trowle, Trowbridge)

An 18th century roadside milestone has received Grade II listed status to help protect it.

The milestone on the A363 at Trowle, near Trowbridge, reads "To Bath, 10". It is thought to date back to the 1700s, when the A363 was a turnpike road - a vital route for coaches, horses and other travellers.

Listed status gives a building or monument greater protection against removal or development, ensuring it is preserved for future generations.

Posted on 27 March 2026 | 7:59 am

Remains of musketeer d'Artagnan believed found under Dutch church

More than 350 years after the death of legendary French musketeer d'Artagnan, his remains may well have been found under the floor of a Dutch church.

Jos Valke, who is deacon at St Peter and Paul Church in Maastricht, helped unearth the skeleton and is 99% certain that the remains belong to Charles de Batz de Castelmore, a close aide to France's Sun King Louis XIV who was known as Count d'Artagnan.

D'Artagnan was killed during the Siege of Maastricht in 1673, but later immortalised in the adventure stories of Alexandre Dumas as a friend of the Three Musketeers.

His remains were long rumoured to have been buried in the church but no evidence has been found until now.

Posted on 25 March 2026 | 5:27 pm

Hastings reinterpretation

https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2026/mar/21/battle-of-hastings-discovery-research-england-history


Sent from Outlook for iOS

Posted on 21 March 2026 | 2:10 pm

Re: Mediaeval dungeon found at excavation beneath city market (Leicester)

Archaeological excavations that uncovered the remains of a "vile" medieval dungeon under Leicester's market place have been completed.

A team from the University of Leicester Archaeological Services (ULAS) has been working on the site since July and discovered artefacts from the Bronze Age, the Roman era and Middle Ages.

The dig, part of a £7.5m project by Leicester City Council to create a new market square, has offered a unique opportunity to work in a busy city centre site, archaeologists said.

They previously revealed they had found a 16th Century civic building with its own dungeon and have now released details of further discoveries.

Among the oldest finds were a small collection of prehistoric worked flints, including cutting tools characteristic of the Neolithic period, about 12,000 years ago.

Posted on 16 March 2026 | 9:31 pm

Re: Hillforts in West Wales: Online lecture (free), Thurs 26 March 2026,7-8pm

Hello Jean,
Thanks for the link, I have added to our news items and put on our front page and will tune in. Out of interest we think the site shown in the photo on the talk page is Buckspool Down Camp
https://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=5992

Heneb excavated conjoined roundhouses at Buckspool promontory fort (also known as The Castle) in August 2025, as part of Operation Nightingale for the Defence Infrastructure Organisation. The fort sits on the south Pembrokeshire coast within the Castlemartin Range MOD site, about a kilometre west of St Govan's Chapel.

The site is a narrow cliff-girt promontory defended by a complex triple ditch and bank system, measuring about 120m north-south and only 40m across at its widest. The August excavation focused on a pair of conjoined roundhouses in the interior and yielded quantities of Roman material including Black Burnished Ware (2nd-3rd century) and an Oxford colour coat mortarium rim (probably 4th century).

The CHERISH project has been monitoring coastal erosion at the site since 2020, with topographic surveys and erosion markers installed in 2022.

Further information:
coflein.gov.uk/en/site/305429/
cherishproject.eu/en/resources/3d-models/buckspool-promontory-fort-the-castle/
https://heneb.org.uk/project/buckspool-iron-age-promontory-fort/

Posted on 15 March 2026 | 6:00 pm