Dig unearths medieval tunnels

Date Published: 08-Feb-2008

A treasure trove of medieval tunnels, 18th century buildings, and 19th century pottery has been discovered during an archaeological dig at a city centre car park.

The Newtownsmyth facility has been closed off to the public for the past fortnight as a team of archaeologists have carried out excavations on the site which was once occupied by an abbatoir and a mill.

Council officials have no current plans for the Bowling Green site, which is zoned residential, but they decided to carry out the dig as part of “preliminary works”.

City Heritage Officer Jim Higgins said that archaeologists were excited by the finds,which included underground passageways, 17th century clay pipes, and 19th century pottery from North Devonshire in England.

The car park,which can only accommodate 40 cars, is on the site of an old abbatoir which was demolished in the 1970s. “There were some ………