Beeston Castle, Cheshire

Excavations between 1968 and 1985 - the first archaeological examination of the ruins of the medieval castle - showed conclusively that the site had been used since prehistory. Divided into two parts, the report first describes the site's occupation from the Mesolithic period to the thirteenth century, with discussions of the Late Bronze Age metalworking and pre-Iron Age crop-processing, and descriptions of the flint, pottery and jewellery. The second part examines the construction of the castle, its re-use in the Civil War, and the finds of coins, pottery, glass, spurs, clay pipes and armour associated with these contexts.