HAMPSHIRE, ENGLAND—BBC News reports that a six-foot-thick stone surface uncovered near Southsea Castle may be a promenade built over the castle’s defensive tunnels in 1848. The castle was built by Henry VIII in the sixteenth century on England’s southern coast in anticipation of a French invasion attempt. The tunnels were added in the early nineteenth century to allow defenders to fire at attackers. “The discovery highlights the change in Southsea from a purely military site to a fashionable holiday resort during the nineteenth century,” explained Naomi Brennan of Wessex Archaeology. The work will help shore up the site from erosion damage. To read about a lost English royal residence that was rediscovered in London, go to "Henry VIII's Favorite Palace."
