Brilliant work. Congrats to the team for finally reaching the bottom of the pit! I wonder if that square hole was either a drain to keep the water level in the pit down or an inlet to let water into the pit?
Well done! Just a thought - could the two large stones have been used as counterweights on the original drawbridge??? Are you able to calculate or estimate the original dimensions of the drawbridge itself from where it would have pivoted? Now the pit has been excavated so far, will it be left open as part of the castle visitor experience and further investigations? Be a shame to have to fill it in again!
What? Three weeks and no treasure? Must be frustrating. Just another year waiting for the results from the experts. Archaeologists are the most PATIENT people. Great job!
I have a suggestion that has to do with safety. Don't stand under something going up or down. The cable could snap, the winch mechanism could.give way, the handle could pull out of a pail- a lot.could go wrong. And when winching don't take your eyes off the pail going up or down. Getting hurt is sometimes something one can't rewind. I was disabled 20 years ago by someone operating above me and a freak accident occurred. Dad taught us as very small children using his favorite quote:"If it moves it can kill you."
have you gotten a regular city plumber down there with a camera snake yet? it's amazing what technology can do these days they can also track the camera tip with a sensor and give a 3d picture. I'm only guessing, but could the rectangular hole be a drain that keeps the moat from overfilling? If there was a timber support in it they would have just left a block out, and with a timber that size you might have found something leftover. Clue me in if I've missed anything else on this spot. I think time team opened it, right? I love that everything ancient always just brings more and more questions. The answers are great too, but they lead us to question the answers on top of that! That circle above looks like a later repair or something like a brace, and if the blocks at the bottom were in situe, perhaps it was for supports but perhaps it rained and they tossed them in for the workers to stand on. I've heard it rains sometimes in England. And job done, like you said it would be a pain to bring them back up, especially if they were underwater, so why bother? Somebody please clue me in if there is any more footage of this site. I'll look, but I'm not very good with computer stuff.
Thanks Jako! It was hard work, but we got there! Now we just have to wait for the results to come back from the lab on dating... but some of it looks tantalisingly early!
Your inside the left port cullis tower. There's another one 15 meters east of you. This history of how this castle was built should be telling you something and you should be learning from it but you're not. Each tower around the curtain has its foundations into the bedrock, there are no exceptions including the keep. I was there when they excavated to foundations of the Constables tower in the early 80's and was amazed how deep it goes. You begin to realise over time how big these towers were especially after seeing the blueprints. There's no way of building such massive towers without starting from bedrock and the portcullis was really massive in dimensions. What you're seeing at the base of this masonry is where the port cullis was tied into the bedrock, it's not a draw bridge pit. I can't find an example of a draw bridge pit that matches this in any castle. It just isn't one. Look at the painting, it's accurate, in fact I've made a video of how accurate it is on my channel. Watch the video, it proves 100% accuracy. The port cullis was not square to the south curtain, it was angled south west so that the right tower was futher away from the curtain. Look at your own excavation from above on Google earth and you'll get the picture right away. Don't you think its rather odd that the base of every single curtain tower has been found and excavated apart from the huge port cullis? A port cullis which was almost 40 feet wide and 30 feet deep never found? Gotta be somewhere, I've got the demolition records, they never took the foundations away, they only took it down to ground level and not to the bedrock. You've found it and you've found where it meets the bedrock. Masons marks indicate interior walls not exterior. If it was an open air pit the stone would be weathered and the masons marks would be long gone. Use your noggins, the rest of the port cullis is east of you, do the right thing and stop telling fantasies of 17th century excavations of the pit to try and explain slighting rubble being inside the pit. Someone needs to take hold of this fantasy you're telling.
Want to see more of our finds from Pontefract Castle?? BROWSE THE OFFICIAL DIG RECORDS: digventures.com/pontefract-castle/ JOIN THE VIRTUAL TOUR: ua-cam.com/video/8zsYzzrQsk8/v-deo.html WATCH OUR PRE-DIG VIDEO: ua-cam.com/video/w7lfl-a64tg/v-deo.html
could the stones have been used as weights for the bridge to make it easier to move the bridge up and down? maybe that was also the reason the pit was deeper than it was wide
how far back does the square hole go? does it keep going? have you put a camera in there to record what it looks like? Could it have had a 'foundational' deposit of some sort? could it connect up to something inside the castle (if it keeps going back)
7.06. I hate to have to point out that the eroded stone wall we see in front of us looks like a different type of stone from a previous build, as it seems to have no purpose being there. Being a brick layer, I am in awe of the ability of these stone masons to lay those stones with no mortar joints. Even if these were molded concrete blocks, they wouldn't stack like that. Anyway. Digging 6 meters down to find 14th century pottery. ??? Surely there must have been some kind of flood to put so much sediment down there. As for the whole. Put a camera down there. ???
what has caused the different shading on the left behind the bucket winch cable at 3:30? could it be from something that was stood on the two stone blocks? was there a corresponding mark on the opposite side?
Brilliant work. Congrats to the team for finally reaching the bottom of the pit! I wonder if that square hole was either a drain to keep the water level in the pit down or an inlet to let water into the pit?
Brilliant work by everyone involved. Makes you wonder how much has been buried in that whole area. Dig up the park bit... 👍
Well done! Just a thought - could the two large stones have been used as counterweights on the original drawbridge??? Are you able to calculate or estimate the original dimensions of the drawbridge itself from where it would have pivoted?
Now the pit has been excavated so far, will it be left open as part of the castle visitor experience and further investigations? Be a shame to have to fill it in again!
What? Three weeks and no treasure? Must be frustrating. Just another year waiting for the results from the experts. Archaeologists are the most PATIENT people. Great job!
Wow. That was a lot of work!
I have a suggestion that has to do with safety. Don't stand under something going up or down. The cable could snap, the winch mechanism could.give way, the handle could pull out of a pail- a lot.could go wrong. And when winching don't take your eyes off the pail going up or down. Getting hurt is sometimes something one can't rewind. I was disabled 20 years ago by someone operating above me and a freak accident occurred. Dad taught us as very small children using his favorite quote:"If it moves it can kill you."
Hi we just found your channel. Keep up the good work, very interesting.
fan boy from california...congrates😃
Cheers!
have you gotten a regular city plumber down there with a camera snake yet? it's amazing what technology can do these days they can also track the camera tip with a sensor and give a 3d picture. I'm only guessing, but could the rectangular hole be a drain that keeps the moat from overfilling? If there was a timber support in it they would have just left a block out, and with a timber that size you might have found something leftover. Clue me in if I've missed anything else on this spot. I think time team opened it, right? I love that everything ancient always just brings more and more questions. The answers are great too, but they lead us to question the answers on top of that! That circle above looks like a later repair or something like a brace, and if the blocks at the bottom were in situe, perhaps it was for supports but perhaps it rained and they tossed them in for the workers to stand on. I've heard it rains sometimes in England. And job done, like you said it would be a pain to bring them back up, especially if they were underwater, so why bother? Somebody please clue me in if there is any more footage of this site. I'll look, but I'm not very good with computer stuff.
Congratulations 🎉
Thanks Jako! It was hard work, but we got there! Now we just have to wait for the results to come back from the lab on dating... but some of it looks tantalisingly early!
Yay! Great result everyone.
Thanks Judith! We're so curious about that big old hole. What was it for.........??
A horizontal test pit?
@@judithcooke6979 or a secret tunnel (just kidding!)
A drainage hole??? To stop the pit from completely filling with water overtime 🤔
@@mickhardy8727 So now we just need to find the plug!!
You did it well-done team. Hope you all get out ok. Will you fill the pit in again?
Miss you guys! Now get out of that hole and go have a pint!
we miss you too! so we'll have a pint on your behalf ;)
Indie: intelligent, well spoken, and a CUTIE PIE! 💜
Yikes
Your inside the left port cullis tower. There's another one 15 meters east of you. This history of how this castle was built should be telling you something and you should be learning from it but you're not. Each tower around the curtain has its foundations into the bedrock, there are no exceptions including the keep. I was there when they excavated to foundations of the Constables tower in the early 80's and was amazed how deep it goes. You begin to realise over time how big these towers were especially after seeing the blueprints. There's no way of building such massive towers without starting from bedrock and the portcullis was really massive in dimensions. What you're seeing at the base of this masonry is where the port cullis was tied into the bedrock, it's not a draw bridge pit. I can't find an example of a draw bridge pit that matches this in any castle. It just isn't one.
Look at the painting, it's accurate, in fact I've made a video of how accurate it is on my channel. Watch the video, it proves 100% accuracy.
The port cullis was not square to the south curtain, it was angled south west so that the right tower was futher away from the curtain. Look at your own excavation from above on Google earth and you'll get the picture right away.
Don't you think its rather odd that the base of every single curtain tower has been found and excavated apart from the huge port cullis? A port cullis which was almost 40 feet wide and 30 feet deep never found? Gotta be somewhere, I've got the demolition records, they never took the foundations away, they only took it down to ground level and not to the bedrock.
You've found it and you've found where it meets the bedrock. Masons marks indicate interior walls not exterior. If it was an open air pit the stone would be weathered and the masons marks would be long gone. Use your noggins, the rest of the port cullis is east of you, do the right thing and stop telling fantasies of 17th century excavations of the pit to try and explain slighting rubble being inside the pit. Someone needs to take hold of this fantasy you're telling.
Want to see more of our finds from Pontefract Castle??
BROWSE THE OFFICIAL DIG RECORDS:
digventures.com/pontefract-castle/
JOIN THE VIRTUAL TOUR:
ua-cam.com/video/8zsYzzrQsk8/v-deo.html
WATCH OUR PRE-DIG VIDEO:
ua-cam.com/video/w7lfl-a64tg/v-deo.html
could the stones have been used as weights for the bridge to make it easier to move the bridge up and down? maybe that was also the reason the pit was deeper than it was wide
how far back does the square hole go? does it keep going? have you put a camera in there to record what it looks like? Could it have had a 'foundational' deposit of some sort? could it connect up to something inside the castle (if it keeps going back)
Could that hole running downwards from the side of the pit be a drain to remove water from the pit, like a sump drain?
7.06. I hate to have to point out that the eroded stone wall we see in front of us looks like a different type of stone from a previous build, as it seems to have no purpose being there. Being a brick layer, I am in awe of the ability of these stone masons to lay those stones with no mortar joints. Even if these were molded concrete blocks, they wouldn't stack like that. Anyway. Digging 6 meters down to find 14th century pottery. ??? Surely there must have been some kind of flood to put so much sediment down there. As for the whole. Put a camera down there. ???
what has caused the different shading on the left behind the bucket winch cable at 3:30? could it be from something that was stood on the two stone blocks? was there a corresponding mark on the opposite side?
I'm takin a guess at the large hole being a drain off so water doesn't overflow ever over the top.
Do DigVentures need Volunteers?
that hole in the side was made to hide a treasure. you might find gold in there! : - )
Could be a drain hole
When the Brits say bottom I can't help but laff