NOTTINGHAMSHIRE, ENGLAND—The Nottingham Post reports that a ten-foot-deep moat was discovered at Newark Castle’s castle gate during work to improve Nottingham’s water and sewer systems. Newark Castle was first built of timber and then later reconstructed of stone in the twelfth century. The castle’s moat held animal bones and pottery dating to the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, suggesting the ditch had begun to fill in as the castle began to fall into decay, according to archaeologist Vicky Owen. “We have read about there being a moat and mention it as part of tours so to have this find confirming the existence of the moat brings it to reality,” said castle warden Floss Newman. The castle was partially demolished in 1648, during England’s Civil War. To read in-depth about excavations at another castle, go to “Letter From England: Stronghold of the Kings in the North.”
