Archaeologists are starting a dig at Nottingham Castle to recover the rest of a human skeleton which was partially removed nearly four decades ago.
Experts unexpectedly found the upper half of the skeleton in the castle’s middle bailey area in 1978.
Trent Valley Archaeological Research Committee discovered it while trying to find the castle’s Great Chapel, built during the medieval period.
Today archaeologists are attempting to exhume and re-unite the bottom half of the skeleton with the 1978 remains to try to solve the mystery of who it might be.
Historians have already judged the skeleton is likely to date from the English Civil War.
Work has already started at the Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit at Oxford University on radiocarbon dating of part of the skeleton, with results available in a few weeks’ time.
It is thought the skeleton may be that of a Parliamentary captain from Derby who was killed at the castle in September 1643.
The incident was described in a book by Lucy Hutchinson about her husband Colonel John Hutchinson, who was Governor of Nottingham during the Civil War.
Following a siege of the castle at least 20 Royalists were taken prisoner.
They were later dragged from the dungeon and the Great Chapel in which they were held and marched up and down the castle yard. They were beaten and shouted at by their captors and the Royalists fought back, killing the captain.
The excavation also aims to reveal more about a medieval building found in 1978, attempt to establish the location of the Great Chapel, and investigate medieval and post medieval deposits that have built up over time.
Famously, in August 1642 at the start of the Civil War, King Charles I chose Nottingham as the rallying point for his armies and raised his standard at Nottingham Castle.
But soon after he departed, the castle fell into Parliamentarian hands and remained in their control throughout the war.
Councillor Dave Trimble, portfolio holder for leisure and culture at Nottingham City Council, said: “This dig will significantly enhance our understanding of the Castle site, building our knowledge of Nottingham Castle during the medieval period and through to the Civil War and beyond.
“The planned £24m transformation of Nottingham Castle will include a Rebellion Gallery which will tell the stories of rebellion and revolt on the site, and this excavation gives an insight into one of the many dramatic incidents that have taken place at the castle over its 1000-year history.”
