Civil War treasures pinpoint site of final battle in Worcestershire

Musket balls, horse harness fittings and belt buckles from the final battle of the English Civil War have been discovered at a construction site.

The artefacts were found by archaeologists near the village of Powick in Worcestershire.

Historians had long suspected the area was the site of fierce fighting during the Battle of Worcester because the church tower in Powick is marked by what were believed to be musket shots.

But they couldn't be certain the site was a battlefield - until now.

Nearly a hundred items have been recovered so far. Archaeologists have been given the chance to examine the field which has been dug up for major roadworks.

Richard Bradley from the Worcestershire archive and archaeology service says it is "absolutely fantastic to be able to pinpoint a site of such historical significance and to be able to get those artefacts that are critical to understand the battle and feed into the wider picture around Worcester".

Pointing out one of the items recovered, he said: "This is a powder charge cap which comes from the top of a single gun powder charge.

"When you find these items in conjunction with musket balls and pistol balls and carbine balls and that sort of thing it makes it absolutely positive that you're on a civil war battlefield."

The Battle of Worcester was fought on 3 September 1651 and marked the end of the Civil War, with Oliver Cromwell's Parliamentarians defeating the Royalists, led by Charles II.

The artefacts have remained uncovered for so long partly due to the ground being a flood plain.

Centuries of silt have built up and archaeologists had to first establish how old the layers of soil beneath the surface were before knowing how far down they needed to dig.

Coins that were in circulation at the time of the Civil War were also discovered.

The artefacts will be kept in local museums.

Roger Fairman is a member of the Battle of Worcester Society and says the find has provided greater understanding of where the battle took place.

"It's the difference between just knowing they fought through hedges around here and getting the evidence that it was that hedge or 500 yards that way," he said.

"You stand on a spot and you actually know with a fair degree of certainty that someone probably died there fighting for something they believed in."