Weeks 2 and 3 of the excavations at Cresswell Pele Tower have revealed some really exciting results. We’ve uncovered more of the pre-tower building and have found where it continues beneath the pele tower itself. Furthermore, we’ve excavated a drain that cuts through the wall foundation of this earlier building and which produced medieval pottery. This useful evidence helps us to determine that the earlier building must be medieval or earlier in date.
Last week we found what we thought was the foundation course of a garden wall that can be seen abutting the pele tower on its eastern corner in illustrations of the 18th century mansion house. However, we’ve extended the trench in this location and have discovered that the wall is much more substantial than originally thought and has a return on it towards the south-west. There is no record of a building here so a lot of our efforts this week and next will go into trying to find out as much as possible about this building and trying to obtain some secure dating evidence.
This Sunday 30th September an open day will be held at the tower for members of the public to see what we’ve been finding and to learn more about the tower’s history. Volunteers will be providing guided tours starting at 11am and finishing at 3.30pm.