History unearthed at new civil war centre site

Archaeologists working on the site of Newark's new £5.4m national English Civil War centre unearthed some history of their own when they discovered a well.

Karen Francis, of Pre Construct Archaeological Services, discovered a stone structure embedded in the ground at the Old Magnus Buildings, the site of the proposed multi-million pound National Civil War Centre.

She and her colleague, project officer Julian Sleap, had been excavating the site for a week and a half when they discovered the well.

They had dug about 90cm into the well but could not dig any deeper as the ground could be hollow and could collapse.

The rest of the site will be dug out with a mechanical digger and archaeologists will then discover how deep the well was.

Karen uncovered the structure on Tuesday last week but it took them two days to identify it as a well.

They believe it dates from the late 17th to early 18th century.

They initially believed they had found an oven, but an oven from that period would have been capped with tiles and might have contained charred remains of food.

They believe the well is made from limestone.

The archaeologists also found four shallow pits, which they believe may have been used as rubbish pits, and a fragment of pottery from the late 17th to early 18th century.

Mr Sleap said it was exciting to find the well as it was the first significant find of their two-week project.

He said such wells would not have been uncommon at the time, however, a well of its shape, a rough triangle, was less common than circular wells.

"Every area would have had a well, there would have been one allocated to every street," he said.

Mr Sleap said the well would not be preserved as the contractors would be digging into the site and laying foundations for the centre in the next few months.

However, he said photographs and documentary evidence of the well could be exhibited in the museum.

Work continued as normal on other areas of the site during the archaeological excavation.

The redevelopment of the Grade II listed Old Magnus Buildings began five weeks ago and will take a year.

The completed centre will focus on the struggle for power in 17th Century Britain. It will be the first of its kind in the country and is expected to attract 60,000 visitors a year.

The project has funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund and Nottinghamshire County Council.

Edwinstowe-based Woodhead Heritage has been contracted to carry out the work.

It will will involve conserving the building’s historic features, including schoolboy graffiti from the 1600s, and installing modern new galleries, lift, toilets, a reception area and gift shop.

The museum is due to be open in September 2014 with an exhibition commemorating the centenary of the first world war.