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A single stone stands on a hill at Henley-in-Arden, Warwickshire. It's the only remnant of what was once a huge medieval castle. So where is the rest of this once-proud stronghold? Time Team has the usual three days to find out.
The basic layout of Beaudesert castle can still be discerned, even though only that single stone can be seen above ground. In particular, the classic motte-and-bailey structure of medieval castles is clearly visible from the air. Determining the position of any buildings within this overall structure is not so easy, however. The first order of the day, then, is for geophysics to survey the highest point on the hill – the most likely site for the main castle buildings.
Trench One is opened over some masonry that has been revealed by erosion caused by walkers following a popular local footpath. And when the first geophysics results are processed in mid-morning, Trenches Two and Three are positioned over areas that the survey results suggest could contain buildings. Before long Phil Harding, in charge of Trench Two, has uncovered masonry, and within the hour glazed medieval floor tile is cropping up all over the place.
In Trench One it looks as though the main defensive wall of the castle has been discovered. Digger Barney Sloane, at any rate, is convinced. 'This must be the main curtain wall of the castle,' he enthuses. The same trench also uncovers the foundations of an ancillary building. Over in Trench Three (another possible site for a substantial building), meanwhile, Carenza has started to find evidence for building material such as dressed stone and roof tile. The trench has also uncovered fragments of window glass and some medieval pottery. By the end of the day Phil has the prettiest find of the day, however: a silver medieval penny.
Day Two continues as Day One with the Team trying to uncover some solid evidence for the location of buildings. The diggers have been working their way through rubble in the upper layers of the trenches and the hopes of the Team are pinned on finding evidence for buildings beneath the debris. Trench Four is opened over a new area identified by the geophysics surveys with the aim of locating a gatehouse.
In Trench Two, after shifting large amounts of rubble, Phil finally hits a solid course of stonework: the wall of a structure has been found. Meanwhile, Carenza has uncovered some of the best-prepared stone from the site together with a flat mortared surface, which could be either a floor or the remains of a wall. The possible gatehouse trench has revealed yet more roof tile and some good quality sherds of medieval pottery, but the gatehouse itself remains elusive. By the end of the day, the most promising trench seems to be Phil's, where substantial stonework could be part of a very large building: has the team found the castle's great hall?
The final day sees a new trench placed on the site of some interesting geophysics results, which could indicate the other end of the great hall partially uncovered by Phil in Trench Two. With various demands now being made on the diggers it is decided to shut down Trench Four, where the search for a gatehouse was conducted. The final analysis of the excavation evidence – including likely post holes from a timber-reinforced bank and ditch – is that although no gatehouse has been discovered here, there was probably some kind of timber structure in this area as part of the early castle defences.
At Trench Three, Carenza has also come to some conclusions. The flat surface seems actually to have been part of a level yard rather than a standing building. Carenza has also found a good collection of building stone within the yard, some of which bears masons' marks, whereby the craftsmen who dressed the stone marked it with their own distinctive signs so that they could be correctly credited with the work when production totals were added up and piecework payments made.
Overall the site has revealed a similar story regarding the use of the castle. Early evidence points towards the origins of the castle as a Norman defensive stronghold. The rubble layers indicate a phase of demolition and decline. Then, later in the medieval period, the site appears to have experienced a revival, only to face further decline and at some point systematic removal of the main bulk of the castle's stone again later in the period.
At the last, in the final hour of excavation, a section of mortared wall is uncovered which can clearly be dated to the Norman period. This is the earliest evidence on the site for stone structures – the very beginnings of Beaudesert Castle.
For the reconstruction cameo in this programme, the Team concentrated on trying to make a replica of a medieval longbow, the lethal weapon of the skilled English archers, which was to make them so feared throughout Europe. The medieval archer was trained from childhood and became part of an elite class of soldier. The power of a bow is measured in pounds: the equivalent weight required to draw back the string. A longbow could have a power of over 150lb. Due to the stresses on the body, archers found that one side of their body developed more than the other. It is even possible for archaeologists to identify archers from human remains because of their over developed bones.
Specialist bowyer Steve Ralphs, who featured in the programme, crafted a longbow from a single stave of yew – just as it was done in the medieval period. Yew was the most popular material for bows because it combined great strength with flexibility. It was in such high demand that there was even a yew tax, whereby merchants bringing in goods from overseas were also required to bring in quantities of yew (which was in short supply at home) as duty.
'The defence of the realm and the English archer depended on the yew longbow,' says Steve Ralphs. 'By making a bow you are basically taking an inert piece of wood and turning it into the weapon that is going to knock a chap off a horse at 300 yards!'
Time Team's surveyor, Henry Chapman, has the fascinating job of recording three-dimensional models of the landscape. These can be used to help viewers understand the landscape at large, and also serve as valuable tools in measuring and marking the exact locations of trenches for the archaeological record.
Henry uses a global positioning system (GPS) to calibrate his measurements. To make a good 3D model lots of points need to be measured three-dimensionally. One method of doing this is to set the equipment to 'kinematic track mode'. This means that the GPS receiver takes a reading automatically every few seconds and stores the data. A surveyor can then walk over the site and collect hundreds of measurements about the shape of the landscape as he goes. This data is then downloaded onto a computer, which creates a fully rendered digital terrain model of the landscape.