| Forum: | Castles In General & Medieval History |
| Topic: | Bridgenorth |
|
|
|
*If HTML and/or UBB Code are enabled, this means you can use HTML and/or UBB Code in your message.
However for those who didn't catch the show some of the feel of it can be found online at http://www.channel4.com/nextstep/timeteam/2001bri.html (I imagine their link to my site my disappear after these comments!) ------------------ Visit Castellarium Philippis Peter U.K. TV viewers:
Did anyone catch CH4's 'Time Team', this last week on Bridgenorth.
The townspeople had asked the team to give them an idea of what their town layout was in medieval times. Seeing that all that is left is part of leaning keep.
It was most interesting, with parts of the bailey wall being found about the town, perehaps the footings of tower in someone's back garden, and were some of the ditches lay.
One thing I couldn't work out is, why the towngate was never mentioned or shown !
Okay, so it is renovated to heck, but it does stand where the original gate was. Comments if anyone else did catch. If you didn't, watch out for a rerun.Philip Davis It was indeed an interesting programme much marred by media hype and apparent belief that archaeology means digging holes. As usual most of the interesting finds were found above ground by Stewart's careful observation of typography and maps (Though, to be honest, on this occassion he found little that wasn't actually already known.) The trenches dug actually produced little that couldn't and wasn't discovered by geophysics and much less damaging core holes (It's worth remembering that those large trenches are now going to be filled in and will completely useless for archaeological study in the future with, perhaps more sophisticated techniques.)
The only worthwhile trench was, as you say Peter, the one dug by Cerenza and based on good above ground remains of the bailey wall.
Tony Robinson can sometimes add to a programme but on this programme his constant demands for trenches and finds really detracted from the show. Obviously it's nice if an artifact that increases the understanding of a site is found but it is the understanding that is important in archaeology not the artifact (That's called treasure hunting). Trying to contrive a find is, in my opinion, not only poor archaeology is false and bad television.
What was really good though was the interpretation of the keep (above ground archaeology again) The suggestion of the keep being a constables tower guarding both the entry into the inner bailey and the inner royal ward was fascinating and, as far as I can see, a new intrepretation.
And the astronomyours beheldyne the constellacions of hys bryth by thare castle, and foundyn that he sholde bene wyse and curteyse, good of consaill
Secreta SecretorumPhilip Davis Oh and I suppose the reason the town gate wasn't mentioned was that the programme was about the castle and not the town defences this may be a bit of an artificial division since they are closely combined but I suppose you have to limit things somehow. Peter Points taken Phil:
Yes, Robinson seemed to be in fret for much of the programme, and did detract from it.
We didn't mention the siege engine hurled up to the top of Panpuddin' Hill. Perhaps firing flaring pineapples in the wrong direction summed up a lot of the programme. The Sealed Knot team on the same site with their cannon was somewhat better. Giving a good insight into what five\six cannons in the same spot would have done to the site.
Phil Dixon certainly did a good job on the keep\tower break down. And the final impression of the whole site seemed pretty good.
Powered by:
Ultimate Bulletin Board (UltimateBB), Version 5.40
© Infopop Corporation (formerly Madrona Park, Inc.), 1998-1999.
