Oswestry Castle dig receives £32,000 lottery boost
A project to excavate Oswestry Castle and research its history has received a £32,300 boost from the Heritage Lottery Fund.
The group of archaeologists and volunteers behind the Oswestry Castle Research Project can now continue to unearth the the full plan of a medieval keep they partially discovered during their last heritage dig.
Project director, Roger Cooper said: "We are thrilled to have received support thanks to National Lottery players and are confident the project will reveal much more about the story of Oswestry Castle.
"We are also grateful for the continued support of Historic England and Oswestry Town Council that enables these excavations to take place."
Last year Heritage Lottery awarded the group £7,400 which led to discovery of an early Norman tower keep as well as an old musket ball.
Mr Cooper added: "It is clear that this was a significant and well constructed castle and highlights the importance of Oswestry in the Medieval period. This was an unexpected and exciting find, clearly needing further excavation to fully reveal its structure and the new grant will enable this to take place."
The excavation will take place from September 4 to 22 and visitors are welcome to see the archaeologists at work at the castle behind the Guildhall. There will be an information officer on site during the excavation to explain what the group is doing on the day.
The HLF grant will also allow the project to undertake further excavations in 2018 and 2019 and there will be opportunity for volunteers to help with these.
The castle is thought to have been built in the years before 1086 and would have been wooden. It was then rebuilt in stone in the middle of the 12th century. During the medieval period the castle passed from English hands to a Welsh Prince and then back to the English.
It continued to be at the heart of the struggle between the Welsh and the English for the border town.
