Often referred to as the world’s most famous medieval art, Bayeux’s tapestry is both an intricate illustration of the events that led to the Norman conquest of England in 1066 and a historical riddle. Several mysteries still surround the stunning embroidery, including the identity of its creator, but new research may have found another piece of the puzzle.
The 68.3 meter long tapestry portrays Guilherme, Duke of Normandy, and his army killing Harold Godwinson, or Harold II, the last Anglo-Saxon king of England at the Battle of Hastings. While the representation in Harold’s embroidery by removing an arrow of his eye may be a matter of debate, a team of archaeologists claims to have confirmed a different detail from Harold’s scenes in tapestry: the location of his residence in Bosham, England.
The team used a combination of traditional and modern techniques to establish the site of the king’s palace, which appears twice in the work of art – once when Harold is celebrating in an extravagant hall before salapar to France and the second time in his own Return before the battle. The researchers reported their findings on January 9 in.
“We often think of (Bayeux tapestry) only as a work of art, but of course it is portraying events and places. And being able, with some certainty, locating one of these places of tapestry on the ground in real life is really exciting, ”says the main author of the study, Duncan Wright, senior professor of medieval archeology at the University of Newcastle, England.
Those in this period are difficult to find, said study co -author Oliver Creighton, professor of archeology at the University of Exeter, England. The houses, even those of high status, were made of wood, and the wood would not have survived. In addition, Norman conquest probably eradicated most of the evidence of its predecessors, Creighton added.
The discovery not only sheds light on the last Anglo-Saxon king, but also provides a rare window for a crucial moment in the history of England, according to the researchers.
Medieval bathroom and other important clues
Bosham is named in Bayeux’s tapestry, but the exact location of Harold’s residence portrayed in embroidery was not clear. Over the years, archaeologists suspected that a large house built in the seventeenth century, a focal point of the current village there, was located on where the palace once existed.
To confirm this location, the researchers used a variety of methods, such as analysis of existing structures within the current home, ground penetration radar and mapping any buried remains of the medieval palace, and an evidence review of an excavation of 2006 inside from the house and the garden.
“People often think that archeology is just about excavating, all about excavation,” said Creighton. “But it’s a puzzle. Uses many and many different sources. ”
Research found two medieval buildings previously unidentified inside the house and garden, but a vital track that helped date the site and identifying the palace was a latrine, or a bathroom, discovered in the 2006 excavation. The researchers neglected the characteristic at the time ; It was not until the last decade that archaeologists began to see a bathroom pattern being placed in elite homes during the Anglo-Saxon period, according to Wright.
Another indicator was the proximity of the place with one. Elite Anglo-Saxon Residences were often built near churches, according to the study, and the site of Harold’s Palace was next to an important Anglo-Saxon church in Bosham.
“These homes and churches together (around the year 1000) are where the aristocracy begins to invest in its own demonstrations. They are showing off to each other, really, ”said Wright, who is the main researcher of the project Where Power Lies, a systematic examination of power centers between the late Anglo-Saxon and Norman periods.
“In England, many of these places have become manorial houses or castles … but their origins and how they came up are very little understood,” he added. “And so, the project’s main purpose was to really try to characterize the archeology of these early stages of these places and how they evolved.”
A house worthy of a king
The Harold Palace, which was a place surrounded by dwitts with various auxiliary buildings, such as stables, barns, warehouses, kitchens and other accommodations found during the 2006 excavation, is one of the seven places that researchers have so far examined as part of the project Where Power Lies, said Creighton, who is also the project co-inlating.
But the place of Bosham is particularly special for its connection to the Bayeux tapestry. “Bayeux tapestry is an integral part of the way everyone thinks about Anglo-Saxon England and Norman conquest… but there is a huge amount of information that embroidery can tell us about the past, besides its representation of military and politicians events ”Says Rory Naismith, ancient English medieval history professor at Cambridge University, who was not involved in the study.
“We can extract details about how people lived, including what their world was like (like Harold’s hall in Bosham). We can also use it as a way of understanding how people understood and imagined the recent past, which helps us understand why this item was done first, ”Naismith said by email.
“The article allows something really rare and remarkable: reading about a place and seeing images of it from sources of the time, and being able to identify and rebuild something of it now,” adds Naismith. “This is precisely what brings the past to life … Add texture to the image we have from Harold and the world he dwelt.”
Inside Bosham’s house, archaeologists have discovered some original elements of medieval times, including a stone wall directly in the center of the house, wooden beams on the roof and one of the stairs, which appears to have been reused from an earlier construction.
The authors of the study say they do not believe these elements are from the Harold Palace, but they hope to return later this year to perform the dating of Madeira and confirm their origins. There are no photos from the existing house outside the public for respect for the privacy of current owners, according to Wright.
Harold’s Bosham Palace was not his only residence, since both before and after the Norman conquest the elite used to move between properties, but was probably his favorite due to the large size and luxurious characteristics, according to Creighton.
“This news is particularly exciting because it brings together different types of evidence – the wonderful tapestry, archeology and medieval written sources,” says Caitlin Ellis, an associate professor of medieval Nordic history at the University of Oslo, Norway, which was not involved in the study.
“This shows that there is still more to find out about this period by reevaluating evidence. Bayeux’s tapestry is a fascinating slice of the story, both visual and textual, ”he says by email. “The Battle of Hastings and the consequent Norman conquest are seen as a fundamental turning point in English history and identity. It was a time of change and continuity. ”
