Oxburgh Hall

 From Smithsonian:

The cache is one of the most remarkable “underfloor” archaeological finds ever made at a National Trust property, the British heritage organization says in a statement. Together, the objects offer a rich social history of the manor’s former residents.

Among the discoveries are the nests of two long-gone rats that built their homes out of scraps of Tudor and Georgian silks, wools, leather, velvet, satin and embroidered fabrics, reports Mark Bridge for the Times.

The critters also repurposed roughly 450-year-old fragments of handwritten music and parts of a book. A builder recently found the rest of the volume—a relatively intact 1568 copy of Catholic martyr John Fisher’s The Kynge’s Psalmes—in a hole in the attic. (Read more.)

 

From Heritage Daily:

 Researchers studying the items said that the variety, age, and significance of the items found, gives a unique insight into the history of the Oxburgh Hall. Independent archaeologist Matt Champion agreed to continue researching the finds through lockdown on his own, and carried out a careful fingertip search.

A page from a rare 15th-century illuminated manuscript was among the items recovered, many dating back to the Tudor period. Finds range from fragments of late 16th century books to high status Elizabethan textiles, as well as more mundane modern objects such as cigarette packets and an empty box of Terry’s chocolates that date to the Second World War – which may have been hidden after the chocolates were eaten.

Anna Forest the National Trust curator said: “When the boards came up, we could see a wave pattern in the debris which showed it had been undisturbed for centuries. The peak of each wave of dust, debris and objects was highest under the crack between the boards. It was often inches thick and lay on top of a layer of lime plaster, which drew out the moisture from the debris and resulted in much of it being perfectly preserved over the centuries.”

Anna continued: “One particular challenge was in areas with south facing windows, where hundreds of pins were found, so Matt had to use thick gloves when searching. The rooms, being well lit, had clearly been used for sewing, and for organising correspondence with evidence of wax seals and fragments of late 18th-century handwritten documents in English and French.

“The value of underfloor archaeology to our understanding of Oxburgh’s social history is enormous.” (Read more.)

Share