Current:Home > ContactExcavation at French hotel reveals a medieval castle with a moat, coins and jewelry -Wealth Pursuit Network
Excavation at French hotel reveals a medieval castle with a moat, coins and jewelry
View
Date:2025-04-13 17:18:08
An excavation project in northwestern France has uncovered the ruins of a medieval castle with its moat still intact as well as jewelry and other artifacts, officials said. The castle, believed to be around 600 years old, was not unknown to archaeologist when they began a "preventative" dig on a hotel property in the city of Vannes early last year, where plans were underway to build a fine arts museum.
But the extent and impressiveness of the ruins they actually found during excavation work that took place between February and April 2023 was unexpected, said Inrap, France's national institute for archeological research, in an announcement Tuesday.
After piercing through a thick embankment in the courtyard of a former private mansion now known as Château Lagorce, excavators discovered two stories of the ancient, fortress-like castle were relatively well-preserved. The ground floor, which was at times 13 feet beneath the surface of the embankment, splayed out across the property and came to measure 140 feet long and 55 feet wide overall.
The structure was built by the Duke of Brittany Jean IV around 1380, according to Inrap. The castle was his, and the desire to build it was apparently tied to the duke's desire "to assert his power." Its advanced architecture, structural complexities and sheer size indicate that the duke took construction on this dwelling space quite seriously. Archaeologists believe that constructing it was also a highly-organized ordeal, since they discovered markings on some of the ancient stones that seemed to be workers' way of following a building plan.
Archaeologists found evidence within the bounds of the castle ruins that suggested the original structure had three, or even four, floors, like the remnants of several staircases. They described one staircase in particular as ornate and "remarkably preserved," with three distinctive steps and space for a window seat. Remains of the castle's functional elements were unveiled, too, including a set of latrines and drainage pipes on either end of the property that seemed to have been used for some of the upper floors.
Manual searches of the latrines and pipes revealed a wealth of other objects that can be traced back to the 15th or 16th centuries. Among them were coins, jewelry and cooking appliances like pots and pans, as well as wooden bowls and fragments of wooden barrels that humidity in the region helped preserve.
The excavation also uncovered a mill built into the residential parts of the castle "in a very original way," Inrap said. That mill was kept in a room inside a portion of the building that archaeologists called a "square tower," which stood at one end of the structure along the moat that encircled the entire thing. Most records of the mill have not survived the centuries but archaeologists did locate a space where a wheel was inserted into the device. That wheel was powered by water flowing through a canal that passed under the castle building, which was then released out into the moat through a grated opening in the mill room.
The team also found the remains of a bridge that would have stretched out over the moat and connected the castle to the outside world, an element that was crucial to allow castle residents to access the city, archaeologists said.
- In:
- Castle
- Archaeologist
- France
Emily Mae Czachor is a reporter and news editor at CBSNews.com. She covers breaking news, often focusing on crime and extreme weather. Emily Mae has previously written for outlets including the Los Angeles Times, BuzzFeed and Newsweek.
Twitter InstagramveryGood! (67874)
Related
- What to know about Tuesday’s US House primaries to replace Matt Gaetz and Mike Waltz
- Garth Brooks Speaks Out on Rape Allegation From His and Trisha Yearwood's Makeup Artist
- Drew Barrymore Details Sexiest Kiss With Chloë Sevigny
- 'It's going to die': California officer spends day off rescuing puppy trapped down well
- NFL Week 15 picks straight up and against spread: Bills, Lions put No. 1 seed hopes on line
- The Fate of That '90s Show Revealed After Season 2
- 'Joker 2' review: Joaquin Phoenix returns in a sweeter, not better, movie musical
- A Michigan man is charged with killing and dismembering a janitor he met on the Grindr dating app
- Which apps offer encrypted messaging? How to switch and what to know after feds’ warning
- Ron Hale, retired 'General Hospital' soap opera star, dies at 78
Ranking
- EU countries double down on a halt to Syrian asylum claims but will not yet send people back
- Greening of Antarctica is Another Sign of Significant Climate Shift on the Frozen Continent
- Watch: Pete Alonso – the 'Polar Bear' – sends Mets to NLDS with ninth-inning home run
- Missing woman's remains found in Missouri woods nearly 6 months after disappearance: Sheriff
- California DMV apologizes for license plate that some say mocks Oct. 7 attack on Israel
- Biden’s student loan cancellation free to move forward as court order expires
- Marshawn Lynch is 'College GameDay' guest picker for Cal-Miami: Social media reacts
- Luke Bryan says Beyoncé should 'come into our world' and 'high-five us' after CMAs snub
Recommendation
Could Bill Belichick, Robert Kraft reunite? Maybe in Pro Football Hall of Fame's 2026 class
On the road: Plenty of NBA teams mixing the grind of training camp with resort life
Some California stem cell clinics use unproven therapies. A new court ruling cracks down
Solar flares may cause faint auroras across top of Northern Hemisphere
New Zealand official reverses visa refusal for US conservative influencer Candace Owens
This couple’s divided on politics, but glued together by love
Los Angeles prosecutors to review new evidence in Menendez brothers’ 1996 murder conviction
Week 5 NFL fantasy running back rankings: Top RB streamers, starts