Expert archaeologists called in after wall unearthed during Newark Castle Gatehouse Project excavation work

Experts have been called in after new archaeology was uncovered during works at Newark Castle.

Work is under way on the multi-million-pound Gatehouse Project, to preserve the castle for the future and enhance its tourism offering.

Part of this work will involve building a new ramp which will take visitors up into the castle through the original gatehouse from Beastmarket Hill.

While the area was being cleared to make way for the building work to begin, a section of stone wall was discovered by archaeologists on site.

During a visit to the site last week, the Advertiser spoke with consultant architect, Joe Player, who is working on the project with Anotherkind Architects.

He said: “We have found an area that we previously hadn’t been able to excavate before.

“We’d done archaeology in the area where we are going to build, but just adjacent to it there was a lot of undergrowth which prevented us from digging.

“Now they’ve done the excavation to create formation levels where we’re going to be building from, we’ve found a historic wall which looks pretty significant.

“This is really good because it tells us part of the story about the castle.

“The moat ran past the gatehouse to the other side, and it looks like it’s part of the foundations of the reciprocal gatehouse for the other side of the bridge over the moat.

“We’re preserving it all in situ and everything is being recorded. We’re working really hard to squeeze our building in alongside it.”

Little more is known about this section of wall, but experts have now been called in to shed some light on its purpose.