As we prepare for our upcoming Archaeology Weekend (10th – 11th August), Ludlow Castle’s resident archaeologist Leon Bracelin reveals some of his most exciting finds and gives us a glimpse into Ludlow’s past…
Can you tell us a little about your background and what brought you to Ludlow?
I was brought up in rural Essex on the River Blackwater near Maldon. I moved to Ludlow in 1994 after spending my youth getting muddy, then worked as a field archaeologist throughout Britain and France in my teenage years gaining valuable archaeological experience.
I have an unusual background – my father worked as an Anthropologist in the 1960s and my mother was in a travelling circus when I was growing up. I developed a lifelong love of antiques and unusual curios… and a fascination for just why people do what they do – both now and the ancient past.
I settled and got married in Ludlow a decade after arriving and have always been intrigued by Ludlow’s unique archaeological past, and the interesting characters that make up the town. I’m interested in the medieval people of the Castle and the current descendants of the first forefathers of Medieval Ludlow.
What era of the Castle’s history do you find the most fascinating?
The Castle is unique in that it covers the whole of the medieval periods from early medieval to Tudor & post medieval, but the era I find most fascinating is that of the early Norman conquest period 1086 -1155 (1155 depending on who you believe). When the Normans (Norse men) invaded across the country they built various military castles, however when they reached the borders of Wales they hit a problem. The Welsh could not be subjugated and were a major cause of trouble so in order to keep them in line they extensively built a high concentration of military castles across the Welsh border known then as ‘The Marches’. The Marches was basically ‘no man’s land’ a lawless buffer zone between the east and the western Celtic tribes.
When the Normans arrived here and built Ludlow Castle back in around 1086, I try to imagine what it would have been like on this Island with the remnants of the earlier Celtic peoples (before we became the identity of ‘Engerlande’) and of those who lived in Shropshire. It would have been a very different social, economic and political landscape.
What has been your most exciting or surprising discovery at Ludlow?
Nearly all the finds; from early medieval pottery to some of the more personified objects used as tools, utensils or personal items such as jewellery. Recently I found a cast Tudor Rose (which is still being analysed in the museum) which is thought to be a personal item from a Livery foot soldier’s personal attire, worn as a medal-like object. This was a complete surprise and was totally unexpected. Although some of the objects do indeed become a thing of beauty within themselves, it can be the simplest of objects that can be the real ‘gold dust’ and most significant.
One artefact that came out of the trenches was a real game changer for the particular area of town it was found in – a very small, delicate flake of flint. It was found in a test pit trench very close to the ‘Christ Croft’ path feature (thought to possibly be a medieval ditch) hidden along the centre of Dinham.
The flint is now being analysed and it looks to date to the Mesolithic period 8000 – 4000BC. This has quite possibly pushed the date right back to a much earlier landscape than was first thought that was there. Flint does not form in these parts of the country they form in general terms by the coast with chalky deposits. So this has been brought in from afar.
Or perhaps on reflection…. one that hasn’t been found yet like the artefacts that must be in the Castle well after nearly 900 years. One day I shall find out..
What can visitors expect at the Archaeology Weekend the Castle on 10th & 11th August?
Visitors can expect a whole array archaeological events to either participate in or to find information about.
First of all, we are getting the public involved in finding out what archaeology is about – why we do it and how we do it. They will also be able to access information on volunteer projects and how public can get involved.
We’ll be joined by the FLO (Find Liaison Officer) for Shropshire who will be identifying objects that people have found locally. There will also be a talk on the role of The Portable Antiquities Scheme and how the public can access it, the legal implications and guides for metal detectorists and public that find archaeological artefacts or features in the landscape.
As resident archaeologist of Ludlow Castle, I will be on hand giving exclusive public archaeological tours of the Castle and the medieval market town.
There will also be demonstrations giving visitors a closer look at the artefacts that have come out of the trenches across the historic core of the town. The public will be able to see first hand and ask questions about the more unusual finds that have been unearthed in Ludlow
Could you tell us more about the historical items that will be on display?
All of the archaeological finds are from various excavations that I have done across the historic core of the town. They all relate to the archaeology of the Castle, and the wider medieval market town, from projects such as Ludlow Subterranean Archaeological project, Ludlow Test Pit Survey, Ludlow Watching Brief Excavations and Ludlow Castle excavations.
There will be a lot of unusual items on display in the Castle over the weekend (and do expect a few surprises)…
A range of artefacts from very early medieval pottery 1080 -1250 (made in Ludlow when the castle was being built) Medieval pottery jugs, Post medieval and Tudor Slipwares, Civil war musket balls, Tudor Clay pipes, French Crossbow bolts 1400, medieval arrowheads, Monastic floor tiles, Henry III Medieval silver long penny coins 1233 -1270, Norman horse pieces, Medieval lead tokens 1400, Tudor buttons, and a Georgian Wig curler!
Not only that but we are also doing a ‘Archaeological Finds cleaning day’ which may or may not produce some unexpected finds…live!
Finally… Being the Castle’s resident archaeologist, there are probably few who know the ruins as well as you. What is your favourite area of the castle, and why?
It has to be the Castle Well, which can be found in the Inner Bailey of the Castle by the rear entrance of the stone keep, and would have been dug down and lined when the Normans first started building the foundations of the Castle in 1086.
The life of the well started at the beginning of the Castle’s history. Effectively it is a giant time capsule that has been sealed so everything that is down there is in context (meaning in its historic layer) and can’t be moved. There are post-decimalisation coinage on top of Victorian coins, Georgian, post medieval and medieval and so on. In fact, I would expect to find more unusual, strange and superstitious items the further down into the well you go as the association between the mysterious underworlds and the subterranean gets more prevalent in these hidden places.
I think that it is highly likely that there would have been some medieval service entrance or chambers down towards the bottom, as the depth of the well currently is at 27.5m deep which is not the extent of it as it has silted up. As for the question of whether it links down to the direct water source to the River Teme, I don’t really know – but it is more likely that it doesn’t. Also, when the Normans (as did the Romans) constructed anything that was engineered to this scale, then they did know what they where doing. They certainly would not have wasted their time or resources.
The range of artefacts preserved down there would almost certainly encompass everything that humans would use – from everyday items such as pottery vessels, utensils, tools, weapons and gaming pieces, to personal, religious or superstitious items. Certainly there will be lots of coins, various heirlooms, the mechanism to pull the water up and quite possibly a couple of people that were quietly done away with a couple of hundred years ago.
Not only that but the organic residue could be really important as it can tell us what people ate, their diets, diseases, chemical compositions revealing possible items they may have been working with.
Leon’s archaeology tours run on the first three Saturdays of each month until September, book with your Castle Admission.
