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Archaeologists have found the location of one of the lost Tiltyard Towers Hampton Court Palace [Credit: Evening Standard] |
The five famous towers were among the earliest banqueting houses built in England, and once stood within the walled Tiltyard where Tudor monarchs held jousts and tournaments.
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The historic tile floor is examined by an archaeologist [Credit: Richard Lea-Hair] |
The exact location of the mysterious towers has eluded archaeologists for decades, until the green-glazed tiled floor of one was uncovered last week during routine maintenance work.
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A gilded lead leaf discovered at the site [Credit: Richard Lea-Hair] |
The towers, which were thought to have been used as viewing galleries for the tournaments staged on feast days, had been largely demolished by the 1680s, but the glimpses of them that appeared in 16th and 17th century images of the palace have tantalised historians ever since.
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A contemporary drawing of Hampton Court Palace, showing the five Tiltyard towers Henry VIII had built for dignitaries [Credit: The Times] |
"Being able to plot the location of this tower will open up new avenues of research, perhaps finally enabling us to locate the others, and to better understand these exceptionally significant buildings, which we think were some of the earliest banqueting houses of their type built in this country."
Author: Hannah Al-Othman | Source: Evening Standard [December 19, 2015]