Experts find location of Henry VII’s birthplace
EXPERTS believe they have found the exact part of Pembroke Castle that Henry VII was born in. Historians have long known that Henry, who became King Henry VII after the battle of Bosworth, was born in Pembroke Castle. However, they were not sure of the exact location.
Now, following a two-week excavation, archaeologists believe they have potentially found the part of the castle where he was born.
They have excavated a large, “high status” building which seems to have been different to much of the rest of the fortification because it was for a residential purposes.
According to James Meek from the Dyfed Archaeological Trust, who led the excavation, they have long know there was a building there but hadn’t confirmed it was residential.
“We have know about the room for many years since an excavation in the 1930s,” he said. “It appears to be a residential building. There are cobbled floors, a cesspit and two spiral staircases. It has also shown up as parch marks. They have always shown up in the castle but this year has been particularly good.”
Parch marks, also known as crop marks, are marks that appear on vegetation during hot weather. It suggests that the foundations of buildings remain beneath the ground.
The building is about the size of two tennis courts and would have made a > far more pleasant place to give birth than the inner part of the castle.
“It is a large stone building,” said Mr Meek. “It is not a stable, it is not a barn – it is a domestic building.
“It seems to be medieval in date based on its layout compared to other buildings of the time. It is a high status building. If that was there when Henry Tudor was born it is more likely it would have been in a structure like that than in the towers or administrative buildings. We can probably never prove the exact spot he was born.
“The reason for the excavation was we were trying to confirm that it is late medieval. We won’t know for certain until the analysis is done, however everything is point towards that.”
The dig, which was funded by the Castle Studies Trust, had a huge number of volunteers working on it.
“We asked members of the public to and hundreds of people volunteered,” said Mr Meek. “They invited local schools and two school a say came down and I gave them a talk.”