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News UK HS2 archaeologists uncover evidence of one of first battles of 17th century English Civil War Around 200 impact marks from pistol shots were discovered on a medieval gatehouse of Coleshill Manor in Warwickshire
Evidence of what could be one of the first skirmishes of the English Civil War in the 17th century has been uncovered by HS2 archaeologists (HS2 Ltd/PA) Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
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Your support makes all the difference. Read more Evidence of what could be one of the first skirmishes of the English Civil War in the 17th century has been uncovered by HS2 archaeologists.
Around 200 impact marks from pistol shots were discovered on a heavily fortified medieval gatehouse of Coleshill Manor in Warwickshire .
More than 40 musket balls were also found in nearby soil, further suggesting a confrontation took place.
The first recorded battle of the Civil War was the Battle of Curdworth Bridge in 1642, a short distance from Coleshill Manor.
Professor Alice Roberts , historian and presenter of BBC show Digging For Britain, which will feature HS2ās archaeology work, said: āThe discovery of the medieval gatehouse at Coleshill was quite unexpected and I was amazed at just how much of the monumental stone building ā with its two great octagonal towers ā had survived below the ground.
āThe front of the gatehouse was pockmarked and had clearly been shot at with muskets ā perhaps for target practice ā but thereās also an intriguing possibility that weāre looking at evidence of the earliest skirmish of the Civil War.ā
Stuart Pierson, archaeologist at Wessex Archaeology, commissioned to carry out the excavations for HS2, described the discoveries as āextraordinaryā.
He went on: āThese findings ā not recorded in historical records ā would have been lost to time had it not been for the expertise and hard work of the team.ā
Coleshill Manor, next to a bridge over the River Cole, was in the hands of Royalist Simon Digby as the Civil War approached.
It would have been a strategic position that the Parliamentarians would have wanted to control, and experts believe they would have passed close to it on their way to Curdworth Bridge.
Records of the Civil War are confined to major battles, so many details of events are unknown.
More than 100 archaeological sites have been examined on the route of phase one of HS2ās high-speed railway which is being constructed between London and Birmingham.
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