'13th Century castle' remains discovered in Shropshire

The remains are thought to date back to 1250

Archaeologists have uncovered the remains of a castle they think could date back to the 13th Century.

They have been working on a mound of land belonging to Soulton Hall, an Elizabethan manor near Wem, Shropshire.

The hall was built in the 16th Century, but experts believe the castle remains could date back as far as 1250.

Site manager Nat Jackson, of Dig Ventures, said the find was "just amazing".

"We found what we think might possibly be a castle on the mound.

"We've got a substantial wall and substantial blocks of wood dating to about the 13th to 15th century. It's very, very, exciting," he told BBC Radio Shropshire.

A stone wall was uncovered at Soulton Hall

A test dig on the previously untouched mound was carried out in 2019, but teams returned in July to continue excavation work.

Tim Ashton, the landowner, said his family have been curious about the lumps in the land for over 100 years.

"We've always had questions, my grandfather was born in the 1920s and always wondered what it was," he said.

"The team is fairly comfortable in the time because of the objects we've been finding.

"The finds are all from that period, a pilgrims badge, ceramics, an ampulla which is medieval way of carrying holy water and it was not made for a great deal of time.

"The moat bridge is colossal and we can be confident of the dating on that," he said.

A pilgrims badge was among the medieval items found

Mr Jackson added: "We think it was quite a small one, dominating the road to Wem and there would have been a moat around it.

"We think we might have found the evidence of the bridge that went over the moat, but this is for further exploration next."

Dig Ventures has been working with Cardiff University students on their field school.

Students from Cardiff University have been helping out at the site

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Mr Ashton said for many of the students, they have never met in person since beginning their course due to the pandemic, but for others, they could not graduate their course without the field experience.

"They have had very little access to the field, some of them couldn't graduate until they came to the dig, we've been planning it for eight months.

"It's one of the first teaching digs [taken place since the pandemic] and they essentially found a perfectly preserved timber structure."