GLOUCESTERSHIRE, ENGLAND—Archaeologists have unearthed an early twelfth-century castle keep wall in the exercise yard at the site of Gloucester Prison, which closed in 2013. The medieval castle also had an inner bailey and stables, and was surrounded by a series of concentric defensive walls and ditches, and had a drawbridge and a gatehouse. In the fifteenth century, the castle became a notorious county jail that was demolished in 1785 to build a new jail, designed by prison architect William Blackburn. That prison building had been expanded and remodeled several times through the 1960s. “It is a very rare opportunity to dig a Norman castle in a great historic city. We have recorded a part of Gloucester’s history that was once covered with the sands of time,” said project manager Cliff Bateman of Cotswold Archaeology. The team will cover the exposed remains to preserve the medieval walls now that the lot is scheduled for redevelopment. For more, go to "The Treasures of Rathfarnham Castle."
