The Forgotten Fortress Of Medieval Britain | Time Team | Timeline

The Team visit Jersey to investigate the origins of Mont Orgueil Castle: a fortress that came to symbolise the Channel Islands’ bond with Britain. The massive castle that dominates the shore today is a Tudor structure built on earlier foundations, and it’s that early castle, built by King John, that the Team are looking for. Unfortunately everything is built on top of a rock outcrop with the steepest sides the archaeologists have ever encountered, and they have to employ mountaineers to help get them and their equipment up the sheer slopes; it’s not an excavation for the faint-hearted. As the dig continues, shadows of that original castle are discovered and a story emerges of how Mont Orgueil came to symbolise Jersey and the Channel Islands’ peculiar relationship with Britain and France. It was fought over, lost and won back again for centuries, but the massive stone walls that the Team uncover ultimately proved futile against the might of gunpowder. It’s like Netflix for history... Sign up to History Hit, the world’s best history documentary service, at a huge discount using the code ’TIMELINE’ ---ᐳ You can find more from us on: This channel is part of the History Hit Network. Any queries, please contact owned-enquiries@