Archaeological dig to unearth castle's history

An archaeological dig to unearth the history behind a civil war bastion will take place at Hartlebury Castle.

Worcestershire Archive and Archaeology Service flew a drone over the 13th Century castle during July 2022, discovering crop marks for the bastion.

Wychavon District Council has partnered with Dig Hartlebury to find out more about the bastion's history after a dig last year uncovered its location.

Schools from across the area and local volunteers will be taking part in the one week excavation to help discover more of the story from Saturday.

Tim Cornah from Dig Hartlebury said the project would "hopefully result in some finds which will help us understand if the defences were ever used in anger and learn more about some of its features.”

The castle, which was the home of the bishops of Worcester for centuries, had a garrison of 120 soldiers based there during the English Civil War.

Ian Macleod, director of planning and infrastructure for Wychavon District Council, said: “Wychavon has a rich heritage and supporting this dig is a fantastic way of helping unearth more of our district’s story and a great opportunity for residents to get involved.”

On the last day of the excavation, visitors can take part in a living history encampment.

The Sealed Knot immersive experience will be available on Saturday 13 July from 11:00 BST.

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