Muskets, military and mayhem
As week two draws to a close, we look at some of the great finds uncovered so far this season. We’ve reached the Roman level, planned and levelled the site, and even found a beautiful Roman brooch. By extending the trench, we've uncovered part of a Georgian garden and a musket ball that probably fell through demolished houses during the civil war. Figure 1. Musket Ball from end of Trench 8 Along with this musket ball, there were at least fifty pistol shots, evidence of a shoot-out by the church and tower walls, tying the archaeology to the civil war battle that occurred at Berkeley, between the Royalists and the Parliamentarians! Figure 2. Painting of Berkeley Castle Written accounts from Prince Rupert to Coronel Rainsborough on 23rd of September 1645 note the siege of the castle, taking it for the Parliamentarians (Wroughton, 2000). Figure 3. Royalist Pike men verses Parliamentarian cavalry The Berkeley’s were Royalists, but the garrison stationed at Berk...