All quiet on the sea front 60 years on

Mar 12 2004 By Tony Henderson, The Journal

A castle to show off to the king

Using the latest Global Positioning System satellite technology, the survey also investigated the land around Dunstanburgh Castle.

It has been believed that the coastal castle, was built in 1313 in response to invasion and raids by the Scots.

But archaeologist Stewart Ainsworth thought that did not make sense as the castle faces the sea and was positioned off the beaten track away from the main north-south routes.

Now the investigators believe that Dunstanburgh was built as a "show castle" by Earl Thomas of Lancaster, the most powerful man in the kingdom behind King Edward II.

Evidence of a triple-gated outer perimeter wall shows that the castle was larger than the remains suggest today.

The investigators are still waiting for results of their sampling and tests, but they believe that it was set amid three ornamental meres, or lakes, and had an imposing stone main entrance.

"Silhouetted on the cliff edge, surrounded by its ornamental meres, with its elegant, modern towers, the castle was the perfect combination of architectural flamboyance and a dramatic setting," said Stewart.

"Above all, Dunstanburgh was a political statement, a symbol of Earl Thomas's wealth, power and status."

It would have been a loaded statement set against Edward II's castle further up the coast at Bamburgh.

"It is a very pretentious fortification and could be Thomas saying `I have a big castle on the coast too.' This is Thomas displaying his wealth and power on a grand scale."

The archaeologists also believe they have found a stone-built harbour, only visible at low tide and which served the castle but in a different place to that favoured by local myth.

It is also thought that the castle was built on the site of a prehistoric settlement or fort.

The castle project is ongoing with a clearer picture emerging when tests results are analysed.