Wessex Archaeology Codnor Castle Derbyshire Archaeological Evaluation and Assessment of Results Ref: 65306 July 2008 Codnor Castle, Derbyshire Archaeological Evaluation and Assessment of Results Prepared on behalf of Videotext Communications Ltd 49 Goldhawk Road LONDON W12 8QP By Wessex Archaeology Portway House Old Sarum Park SALISBURY Wiltshire SP4 6EB Report reference: 65307.01 June 2008 © Wessex Archaeology Limited 2008, all rights reserved Wessex Archaeology Limited is a Registered Charity No. 287786 Codnor Castle, Derbyshire Archaeological Evaluation and Assessment of Results Contents Summary Acknowledgements 1 INTRODUCTION ...............................................................................................1 1.1 Project Background ...................................................................................1 1.2 Archaeological and Historical Background.............................................1 1.3 Previous Archaeological Work .................................................................3 2 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES.................................................................................4 3 METHODS...........................................................................................................4 3.1 Survey..........................................................................................................4 3.2 Geophysical Survey....................................................................................5 3.3 Earthworks Survey ....................................................................................5 3.4 Excavation and Recording ........................................................................5 4 RESULTS.............................................................................................................6 4.1 Introduction................................................................................................6 4.2 Geophysical Survey....................................................................................6 4.3 Earthwork Survey......................................................................................6 4.4 The Castle and Associated Remains.......................................................10 4.5 Later Features and Deposits ...................................................................13 5 FINDS .................................................................................................................14 5.1 Introduction..............................................................................................14 5.2 Pottery.......................................................................................................14 5.3 Ceramic Building Material (CBM) and Mortar ...................................16 5.4 Stone ..........................................................................................................16 5.5 Glass ..........................................................................................................16 5.6 Coins..........................................................................................................16 5.7 Animal Bone .............................................................................................18 5.8 Other Finds...............................................................................................19 5.9 Potential and Further Recommendations..............................................20 6 PALAEO-ENVIRONMENTAL EVIDENCE.................................................20 6.1 Introduction..............................................................................................20 6.2 Industrial waste........................................................................................21 6.3 Charred plant remains ............................................................................21 6.4 Charcoal....................................................................................................21 6.5 Land snails and fresh/brackish water molluscs ....................................21 6.6 Small animal and fish bones....................................................................21 7 DISCUSSION.....................................................................................................21 7.2 Extent ........................................................................................................21 7.3 Date sequence/function............................................................................22 7.4 Character/condition.................................................................................22 8 RECOMMENDATIONS ..................................................................................22 9 ARCHIVE ..........................................................................................................23 10 REFERENCES ..................................................................................................24 i Appendix 1: Trench Summaries TABLES Table 1 Finds totals by material type and by trench Table 2 Pottery totals by ware type Table 3 Animal bone species list and percentages (NISP) Table 4 Assessment of charred plant remains and charcoal FIGURES Figure 1 Site location plan, showing scheduled area Figure 2 Geophysical Survey results interpretation Figure 3 Trench location plan and medieval features Figure 4 Plan of trenches 1 and 5 Plate 1: Trench 1 from above Figure 5 Plan of trench 2 Figure 6 Plan of trench 3 Figure 7 Plan of trench 4 Figure 8 Plan of trench 6 Plate 2: Trench 6 from above Figure 9 Plate 3: Cistercian ware pottery Plate 4: Yellow ware pottery Front cover: Trench 1 under excavation Back cover: Gold noble of Henry V ii Codnor Castle, Derbyshire Archaeological Evaluation and Assessment of Results Summary In June 2007 an archaeological evaluation was undertaken by Channel 4’s Time Team at Codnor Castle, Derbyshire, a Scheduled Monument, centred on NGR 443360 349980. The fieldwork comprised six machine-excavated evaluation trenches. The village of Codnor is mentioned in Domesday Book, and the castle may have begun life as a Norman earthwork motte and bailey fortress. Today all that survives is a three-storey chamber block, with fragments of lodgings built against a curtain wall, flanked by rectangular turrets. The exact extent and layout of the Castle is not known. Sketches from the 18th century hint at an impressive, if ruined, complex of buildings. Dating of the various building stages and construction at Codnor remains contentious. Part of the curtain wall in the upper court has been dated to c. 1200 (when the castle became the seat of the Lords Grey), and the southern court seems to have been a later addition to the castle, but it is probable that the castle evolved (rather than being rebuilt) from at least the early 13th century onwards. The evaluation involved the excavation of six trenches, three in the lower court to examine the approaches to the gatehouse and three in the upper court to explore the rear of the extant gatehouse and to trace the curtain wall of the upper court. The trenches in the lower court encountered a large moat, approximately 6m wide and 3m deep, with substantial masonry abutments that would have supported a drawbridge. Pottery recovered from the fills of the moat indicates that this probably fell out of use and was backfilled in the 16th or early 17th century. The finds from the lower fills suggest that the moat was probably open from the early 13th century. The lower fills also produced a notable find, a gold noble of Henry V (1413-1422), struck at the London mint. Although much of the archaeology in the upper court had been heavily disturbed by post-medieval and modern coal extraction and garden features, excavations here revealed part of the back wall of the gatehouse, which appears to have been built in the early 13th century, and parts of the northern and eastern curtain wall, including the footings of a tower or turret on the northern wall. Occupation deposits were found within the turret, although these appear to relate to a fairly late phase in the use of the castle. The Time Team evaluation has demonstrated the extent, character and condition of the castle remains and has shown that despite the later industrial use of the area, substantial and important medieval remains survive below ground. Analysis of the finds suggests that the masonry castle was probably established in the early 13th century and continued in use until the 16th or early 17th century. iii Codnor Castle, Derbyshire Archaeological Evaluation and Assessment of Results Acknowledgements The evaluation was commissioned and funded by Videotext Communications Ltd. Wessex Archaeology is grateful to Jon Humble, Brian Kerr and Andrew Lowry of English Heritage and Dave Barrett and Rachel Atherton of Derbyshire County Council Archaeological Department for their help and advice. Thanks are also due to UK Coal Mining Ltd for allowing the evaluation and to Barry Keats, the site manager for UK Coal Mining Ltd, for his help and interest. Surveying was undertaken by Henry Chapman of the University of Birmingham, the geophysical survey was undertaken by John Gater, Ian Wilkins and Emma Wood of GSB Prospection and the earthworks survey was undertaken by Stewart Ainsworth of English Heritage. The excavation was undertaken by Phil Harding (of Wessex Archaeology), Kerry Ely, Matt Williams, Raksha Dave, Tracey Smith, Paul Blinkhorn, Neil Holbrook and Ian Powlesland of Time Team and local diggers Barry Lewis, Gareth Davies, Panagiota Markoulaki, Peter Webb, Richard Parker,