The excavation of Sheffield Castle revealed four wooden stakes used for defense during the 1644 siege by Parliamentarian forces. These stakes are significant as they are the first surviving wooden defense mechanisms from the Civil War era discovered in the UK. Made from ash and elm, these stakes were part of an abatis, a fortification type designed to hinder attackers. Ashley Tuck, leading the excavation, emphasized the rarity of findings like this, stating their historical value in understanding the Civil War's brutal realities.
"To be able to hold the very wood to which the defenders of Sheffield Castle trusted their lives is extraordinary."
"These timbers and the abatis they formed were ultimately unsuccessful in protecting the castle from being destroyed, but they paint a picture of the brutalities of the war."
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