It is easy to take our most important historic monuments for granted, and there is a commonly-held view that we know everything about them. Archaeology, however, has the capacity to surprise us by revealing new, unexpected aspects of even the most familiar sites. So it was at the Tower of London, when Historic Royal Palaces established the Tower Environs Scheme in the mid 1990s to improve the area around the castle and provide it with a setting worthy of its status as a World Heritage Site. The idea of reflooding the moat was one of the most exciting proposals under consideration, and a major programme of archaeological and technical investigations was undertaken to assess its feasibility. This led in 1995 to the very unexpected discovery of top-quality stonework at the bottom of a small trench in the moat. The discovery was difficult to interpret, so a much larger excavation took place during 1996-7, revealing previously unknown parts of the Tower's 13th-century defences. This report provides a full description and analysis of the remarkable discoveries, representing a major advance in our understanding of Henry III's expansion of the castle. Many other interesting aspects of the moat's development and environment are also described, and there are extensive entries on artefacts such as a wickerwork fish trap - and the fish trapped inside it.

The Tower of London Moat (Historic Royal Palaces Monograph)

History

Keevill, G. D.

Europe

Oxford Archaeology

<p>The minster church at Eynsham, Oxfordshire, was founded in the 7th or 8th century and refounded in 1005 as a Benedictine abbey. The excavations carried out by Oxford Archaeology revealed substantial remains of the abbey, tracing its history from its foundation until the Dissolution in 1538-9. The excavated precinct buildings included part of the Great Cloister, refectory, kitchens, cellars, domestic range and latrines. A programme of geophysical survey was carried out in addition to the main excavation in order to study as much as possible of the abbey's inner and outer wards, and to place the excavations in their wider context. The recovery of archaeological evidence at the site, combined with a study of documentary sources, has provided a rare opportunity to study in depth the development and economy of a major religious house from its origins through to its demise. This large volume is the final report on the excavations. It includes chapters on the stratigraphy of the site, the building materials, the small finds, animal and botanical remains, human skeletons, and a comprehensive discussion of the sequence of occupation at the site, from the Anglo-Saxon through the medieval and post-medieval periods.</p>

Aelfric's Abbey: Excavations at Eynsham Abbey, Oxfordshire, 1989-1992 (Thames Valley Landscapes Monograph)

Hardy, Alan

Dodd, A.

Lancaster

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