27 May 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Archaeologists may have uncovered a 13th-century castle in Shropshire

Archaeologists have been working on a mound of land in Wem, Shropshire, that belongs to Soulton Hall, Elizabethan mansion and they have uncovered the remains of a castle they think could date back to the 13th Century.

Although the hall was constructed in the 16th century, experts think the castle remnants date back to 1250. Dig Ventures site manager Nat Jackson described the discovery as “just amazing.”

“We’ve got a substantial wall and substantial blocks of wood dating to about the 13th to 15th century. It’s very, very, exciting,” he told BBC Radio Shropshire.

A pilgrims badge was among the medieval items found
A pilgrims badge was among the medieval items found. SOULTON HALL

A test dig on the previously undisturbed mound was conducted in 2019, but crews returned in July to continue excavation operations. The landowner, Tim Ashton, said his family has been curious about the lumps in the property for over 100 years.

“We’ve always had questions, my grandfather was born in the 1920s and always wondered what it was,” he said.

Students from Cardiff University have been helping out at the site
Students from Cardiff University have been helping out at the site DIG VENTURES

“The team is fairly comfortable in the time because of the objects we’ve been finding. The finds are all from that period, a pilgrims badge, ceramics, and ampulla which is a medieval way of carrying holy water and it was not made for a great deal of time.”

It’s likely that the castle was ‘quite a small one,’ Jackson said, adding it’s likely there was a moat around it after the team found evidence of a bridge. 

‘The moat bridge is colossal and we can be confident of the dating on that,’ Ashton added.   

Cardiff University students are also on the dig working. The bridge and moat have yet to be confirmed, as experts will investigate this next.

Related Articles

Arrowhead from the Biblical Battle Discovered in the Hometown of the Giant Goliath’s

30 May 2021

30 May 2021

A bone arrowhead discovered in the ancient Philistine city of Gath might have been used fired off by the city’s...

Nearly 1,000-year-old Native American canoe recovered from Lake Waccamaw

18 April 2023

18 April 2023

A 1,000-year-old Waccamaw Indian dug canoe was retrieved from Lake Waccamaw near Wilmington, North Carolina after it was discovered by...

2,000-year-old graves found in ancient necropolis beneath Paris Train Station

24 April 2023

24 April 2023

Archaeologists have discovered 50 tombs in an ancient necropolis just meters from a busy train station in central Paris, and...

Rare Ancient Stamps Found in Falster May Show Way to an Unknown King’s Home

27 July 2023

27 July 2023

In the center of Falster, southeast of Denmark, a man with a metal detector has made an important discovery. The...

3,200-Year-Old Temple Mural of Spider God in Peru

25 March 2021

25 March 2021

Archaeologists in northern Peru have discovered a 3200-year-old mural. The mural was painted on the side of an ancient adobe...

New rune discovery in Oslo

16 February 2022

16 February 2022

For the third time in a month and a half, archaeologists have found a new rune in Oslo. The artifact...

Unique Iron Age Divination Spoon Found on the Isle of Man

21 February 2025

21 February 2025

A unique bronze spoon, dating back 2,000 years and believed to have played a role in divination rituals, has been...

New study reveals the Milky Way’s hidden role in ancient Egyptian mythology

11 April 2024

11 April 2024

The ancient Egyptians were keen observers of the night sky. They incorporated their astronomical observations into their religion, mythology, and...

Israeli Archaeologists discover two shipwrecks filled with treasure

22 December 2021

22 December 2021

Israeli archaeologists have been discovered ancient artifacts and treasures amid the wrecks of two ships on the seafloor off the...

Ancient Rituals and ‘Devil’s Money’: Elite Pagans’ Medieval Cult Site Unearthed at Hezingen

15 February 2025

15 February 2025

Researchers in the eastern Netherlands have uncovered a medieval cult site featuring structural remains and a hoard of gold and...

Archaeologists in Israel are restoring the largest Roman Basilica in the country

6 June 2021

6 June 2021

Archaeologists in Israel are trying to rebuild a 2,000-year-old Roman-era basilica that is thought to be the country’s biggest. A...

Researchers discovered clay tablets with ancient cuneiform writing, a game board, and large structural remains in Kurd Qaburstan

16 January 2025

16 January 2025

Tiffany Earley-Spadoni, associate professor of history at the University of Central Florida (UCF), and a researchers team have made important...

First Female Viking Grave Discovered In Swedish Mountains

21 August 2022

21 August 2022

A mountain hiker in Jämtland, in central Sweden, on his way camping in Kalffällen, made a surprising discovery. The discovery...

No Ancient Super-Highway: The Reality of Europe’s Erdstall and the Scotland-Türkiye Tunnel

28 April 2025

28 April 2025

The internet continues to buzz with the captivating notion of an immense, prehistoric tunnel network stretching from the Scottish Highlands,...

Coin hoard found in fireplace ‘belonging to Scottish clan chief’ murdered at infamous Glencoe Massacre

17 October 2023

17 October 2023 1

Coins believed to have belonged to a Scottish clan chief murdered in an infamous 17th-century Glencoe massacre, have been found...