Medieval grinding stone paper Sepit found in Newark Castle –

Archaeologists excavated Newark Castle in Nottinghamshire to discover a medieval sewage reservoir covered by old millstone. A team from pre-construction archaeology is investigating the castle as it underwent a major renovation. The sewage pool was found in the 13th/14th century Garderobes (basically a toilet with a fireplace built into the castle wall), which hung over the shaft, throwing waste into a ditches or moats).

Rebecca Nichols, senior project manager for preset archaeology who oversees the work, said the team was “very surprised” when it came to discovering the discovery.

Ms Nichols said the team found a sewage treatment plant or soaking, covered with worn grinding stones, but added: “We are not sure which one yet.

The facility, she said, is “really standard and you’ll expect it.”

“But we don’t want to find anything. We think everything was taken away in the 19th century,” Ms. Nichols said.

Newark Castle was originally built in the palace of Alexander, bishop of Lincoln in the first half of the 12th century. When construction began in 1123, it was an earth and wood fortification. By the end of this century, it had been rebuilt into a powerful stone fort.

The brother of Lion King Richard Carta, John of John of John of John of Magna Carta, was the brother of the Lion, who died in 1216 when he signed a contract for dysentery during the First Baron War. He was in a campaign against the rebel baron, bounced from Lincoln in the north to the king of the east (he caught the dysentery that killed him), and then headed west to Newark on Trent. He was received at Newark Castle, and apparently ate so many peaches that when he died that night, the chronicler blamed his peach revelry on his death.

During the British Civil War, parliamentary forces besieged the castle three times. The castle persisted, but when Cromwell won the war, they took revenge in 1648 (deliberately destroyed). It was abandoned until it was rebuilt in the mid-19th century. The city of Newark acquired the castle in 1889 and opened a new garden in the walls commemorating Queen Victoria.

In 2022, the District Council began working on the reconstruction of the castle, which will reopen its original Romanesque concierge, the most complete example of its kind in England, and created five new galleries within the castle to explain its history. They also plan to create a viewing platform on the top of the tower to give visitors the best view and improve accessibility for people with mobile devices. Victorian gardens will also be remodeled, with new lighting installed and new native species planted.

The renovation finally began this year, and archaeological surveys showed that there were more bodies in the early castle than they expected. In addition to the sewage reservoir, a stone fixed wall was also found, which is of great importance.

After evaluating the thickness and style of the stone, it was believed that the wall was part of the earliest stages of the stone castle (the magnificent stone structure currently standing may be the soil and wood castle). This discovery reshapes our understanding of the appearance of the castle. The ditch seems to have only partially surrounded the castle.