Oakham Castle Community Dig 2018 Interim Report and Project Impact Review
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
ARCHAEOLOGICAL SERVICES Oakham Castle Community Dig 2018 Interim Report and Project Impact Review Mathew Morris MA ACIfA Project Officer, Archaeological Services (ULAS) Introduction In April 2018, University of Leicester Archaeological Services (ULAS) was commissioned by Rutland County Council to carry out a community archaeology dig at Oakham Castle. The project was funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund as part of a broader £2.1 million grant to restore this nationally significant site. The grant included work to restore the 12th-century Great Hall, a Grade I Listed Building which is widely considered to be the best surviving building of its kind in England. Additionally, the Restoring Oakham Castle project has recorded, stabilised, and conserved the castle’s stone curtain wall, improved visitor facilities, site access and site interpretation, and funded a programme of events and family activities to open up the castle’s important history for visitors to explore. As little remains of the castle above the ground, archaeology plays an important role in furthering the understanding of the site. As part of the project, archaeologists from ULAS have carried out several investigations in and around the castle, monitoring groundworks for new drainage and electricity cables, the restoration of the castle’s defences and excavation of the footprint of a new toilet block to the west of the hall. Additionally, the project made provision for community involvement in the archaeological exploration of the castle. Community Dig Aims The aim of the 2018 community dig was twofold: to build upon work first started by Channel 4’s Time Team in 2012, and to give volunteers the opportunity to take part in a unique archaeological project which would uncover new information about the castle’s history. During filming of their Season 20 episode ‘Horseshoe Hall’ Time Team identified that significant archaeological remains still survived beneath the many lumps and bumps in the castle’s inner bailey. Of particular interest was tantalising glimpses of two building, one north-east of the hall, possibly a stable, and one to the west of the hall, possibly the solar block. In both areas, by finding Time Team’s trenches again and opening larger areas for investigation, it was hoped that the 2018 community dig would make more sense of these complex structures. Left: top, Time Team excavate a building west of the hall; bottom, ULAS archaeologists investigate the castle’s curtain wall. Oakham Castle from the south-east as it may have looked in the 14th century. Artwork: Phil Kenning Oakham Castle – A Brief History The original motte-and-bailey castle was probably established in 1075 by William the Conqueror. A hall is mentioned in 1086 but this is not the building we can see today. In 1130 the castle was given to the Ferrers family and around 1180, Walkelin de Ferrers began rebuilding it in stone. He also built the Great Hall, which is considered the finest example of its kind in England. Surviving parts of the castle include the remains of the 11th-century motte and inner bailey, the late 12th-century hall, parts of the 13th-century stone curtain wall, and the outer bailey known as Cutts Close. An account of the castle in 1340 describes the following: “At Oakham there is a certain castle, well walled, and in that castle are a hall, four rooms, a chapel, a kitchen, two stables, a barn for hay, a house for prisoners, a room for the gate-keeper, and a drawbridge with iron chains. The castle contains within its wall an estimated two acres of ground. The same is called the manor of Oakham. Outside the castle is a garden, and fish ponds and a moat.” By the 16th-century, residential use of the castle had ceased and by 1521 an inquest said “there is at Oakham an old castle, all ruinous… the hall is in the best state of repair, and old fashioned.” The hall continued to be used as a court house, however, which protected it to the present day. Today, the only buildings that we know about for certain are the hall and the kitchen. Blocked doorways in the east wall of the hall provide clues to the location of the service range and excavations in 1956-7 found evidence for a buttery and pantry, and a detached kitchen block. More recently, as part of the Restoring Oakham Castle project, vegetation has been removed from the ramparts, again revealing large areas of the castle’s 13th-century curtain wall. Above: Key features of Oakham Castle, with the 2018 community dig areas highlighted. Left: Engraving of Oakham Castle in 1730 by Samuel and Nathaniel Buck. Volunteer Participation The community dig, carried out in the inner bailey of Oakham Castle between 18th and 29th April 2018, aimed to give volunteers from Oakham, and the wider Rutland and Leicestershire communities the opportunity to take part in the exploration of the castle’s history, as well as engage with visitors to the site and school groups who wanted to learn more about the archaeology of the castle. Placements were free and available to all, regardless of age or ability, the only requirement being that volunteers needed to have the fitness to carrying out activities equivalent to a day of gardening. No prior experience was necessary, with training provided to everyone by a team of archaeologists from ULAS. In all, 50 volunteers took part over the two-week project. People ranged in age from 15 to nearly 80, and ability from no previous experience, to members of local archaeology and history groups, and five Distance Learning students studying archaeology at the University of Leicester (three of whom used the dig as assessed fieldwork). Over the two weeks, volunteers contributed 745.5 hours (109 person-days) of work on the excavation. Most people attended for 1-2 days, with five volunteers attending for 5 or more days. Volunteers were expected to take part in all aspects of the dig, from excavation using hand tools such as trowels, brushes, mattocks and shovels, to washing and processing the finds, to site recording, as well as engaging with the public – who had access to the excavations when the team was on site (Wednesday to Sunday both weeks). Additionally, ULAS staff provide tailored training for volunteers, notably the Distance Learning students and some members of local archaeology groups, who wanted to learn extra skills. This particularly focused on archaeological recording skills such as context sheet writing and site photography. 50 volunteers 109 person-days volunteered 745.5 hours volunteered 800-1,000 visitors to the excavation Over 26,000 people reached via social media Press and radio interviews given Public Engagement An important part of the project was to communicate its discoveries to the diverse range of people who use the site, including visitors to the castle, locals who use the site recreationally and school groups. This took on six aspects: 1. Members of the archaeological team engaged with visitors to the site on a daily basis. In the first week of the dig, the team interacted with c.50-100 people per day (it was very nice weather!), whilst in the second week visitor numbers dropped to <50 per day (the weather worsened during the second week). A public open day on the middle Sunday of the project (22nd April) attracted c.300 visitors to the excavation. In all, around 800-1,000 people visited the excavation during its two weeks. 2. An information distribution system called Info-Point was trialled for the duration of the project. Info-Point created a WiFi ‘hotspot’ through which site visitors could access a ‘local web’ and browse additional information about the project using a smartphone or tablet. As well as access to the content via conventional web browsers, QR codes also allowed visitors to be directed to specific information at each trench site. Content included an introductory video, regularly updated photo galleries, downloadable information sheets, games and links to further reading. In all, 996 page views were generated during the excavation. 3. In addition to the digital content, paper information sheets were also regularly produced to keep visitors to the castle up-to-date with the latest discoveries from the excavation. 4. A wider audience was kept informed through ULAS’s social media platforms – primarily Facebook and its news blog Ulasnews.com. During the week preceding the excavation, the excavation itself and the immediate aftermath (figures accurate as of 11/5/2018): 11 Facebook posts were liked 405 times, shared 125 times, and reached 25,955 people, whilst 4 news blogs were viewed over 700 times. 5. Annotated, interactive 3D models of the excavations were created using photogrammetry and uploaded to Sketchfab.com for people to explore the archaeology in more detail. These can be viewed at: https://sketchfab.com/leicester-archaeology/collections/oakham-castle- community-dig-2018 6. Finally, interviews were given to Radio Rutland and Radio Leicester, and extensive coverage of the dig also featured as a ‘special report’ in local newspapers the Rutland Times and the Rutland and Stamford Mercury. Above: A vertical view of the archaeology in Trench 1. A 3D model of Trench 1 can be viewed at https://skfb.ly/6yPnH Trench 1 (north trench) – a stable or workshop uncovered North of the hall, Trench 1 focused on a series of earth mounds in the north-east quarter of the castle’s inner bailey. Here, in 2012, Channel 4’s Time Team identified a sizeable stone wall, thought to date to the 13th or 14th century. Removal of turf and topsoil with a mechanical digger revealed that the earth mounds within the trench area were large piles of rubble, presumably from the demolition of an underlying building.