Researchers in the U.K. have announced the discovery of a lost residential site belonging to Harold, the last Anglo-Saxon King of England. This site can be seen on the famous Bayeux Tapestry and has avoided researchers for years. However, a the team believes they’ve identified the building, which may be thanks to a toilet. Their findings are published in The Antiquaries Journal.
King Harold Sails for France
Holy Trinity Church, Bosham, looking east. (Credit: Newcastle University)
Harold Goodwinson was the last Anglo-Saxon English king who famously died at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. His death resulted in William the Conquer ascending the throne, bringing England under Norman rule. The events leading up to Harold’s death are documented on the Bayeux Tapestry.
On the tapestry, Harold is shown visiting the town of Bosham, in West Sussex, twice. In Bosham, Harold is depicted visiting a church and then going to a lavish hall to enjoy an extravagant meal before sailing off to France. The same is shown as Harold returns from France.
Researchers have never been able to locate this building depicted on the tapestry, though they were able to locate the church, which still stands today. Many believe that a private residence has been built on the site. However, after an archaeology team from Newcastle University and the University of Exeter reexamined evidence from a 2006 excavation, they believe the residence has been located.
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Part of the garden ruin at Bosham was confirmed as a medieval building by recent research. (Credit: Newcastle University)
Using a variety of methods, including geophysical surveys, review of records and maps, and overall, looking back at evidence from a West Sussex Archaeology excavation in 2006, the research team could pinpoint two previously unidentified buildings from that time. One of them was built into the current private residence that sits atop it, while the other was in the garden.
Researchers noted that the 2006 excavation identified a timber structure with a latrine inside. Within the past decade, researchers have noticed that in wealthy 10th-century English houses, the owners added toilets. The uncovered latrine indicated to the research team that this building was originally owned by someone wealthy, and therefore, it was likely King Harold’s hall.
The hall was part of a larger complex, according to the study, and likely contained the nearby church.
“The realization that the 2006 excavations had found, in effect, an Anglo-Saxon en-suite confirmed to us that this house sits on the site of an elite residence pre-dating the Norman Conquest,” said Duncan Wright, senior lecturer in Medieval Archaeology at Newcastle University and lead author of the study in a press release.
“Looking at this vital clue, alongside all our other evidence, it is beyond all reasonable doubt that we have here the location of Harold Godwinson’s private power center, the one famously depicted on the Bayeux Tapestry,” he concluded in a press release.
Importance of This Find
The Bayeux Tapestry is over 200 feet long and depicts the events leading to the Norman Conquest of England. With wool and linen, a turbulent part of English and French history has been preserved. Unfortunately, that can’t be said for many historic dwellings.
After William the Conqueror’s victory at the Battle of Hastings, there were major shifts across the English aristocracy. A finding like this helps researchers gain a better understanding of what life was like pre-Norman invasion.
“The Norman Conquest saw a new ruling class supplant an English aristocracy that has left little in the way of physical remains, which makes the discovery at Bosham hugely significant — we have found an Anglo-Saxon show-home,” said Oliver Creighton of the University of Exeter, and co-author of the study in a press release.
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A graduate of UW-Whitewater, Monica Cull wrote for several organizations, including one that focused on bees and the natural world, before coming to Discover Magazine. Her current work also appears on her travel blog and Common State Magazine. Her love of science came from watching PBS shows as a kid with her mom and spending too much time binging Doctor Who.
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