Exeter uni archaeologists find ‘lost’ site depicted in the Bayeux Tapestry

Archaeologists have discovered compelling evidence that a house in England stands on the site of a long-lost residence belonging to Harold II, the last Anglo-Saxon King of England.

By reassessing past excavations and conducting new surveys, researchers from both Newcastle and Exeter University believe they have identified a power centre where Harold Godwinson ruled before his death in the Battle of Hastings in 1066.

Bosham, a coastal village in West Sussex, appears twice in the Bayeux Tapestry, which vividly depicts the Norman Conquest of England in 1066, when William, Duke of Normandy, challenged Harold for the throne.

The Bayeux Tapestry ends with William’s victory at Hastings but earlier depicts Bosham as the site where Harold feasts in a grand hall before sailing to France and again on his return. Though the exact location of Harold’s residence remains unproven, some believe it stood where a private manor house now stands.

Archaeologists used various methods to investigate the manor’s early history, including geophysical surveys, structural assessments, map analysis, and a re-examination of a 2006 excavation by West Sussex Archaeology. Their findings confirmed two previously unknown medieval buildings, one within the house and another in the garden. Crucially, the 2006 dig also uncovered a latrine in a large timber structure, suggesting even earlier origins for the site.

Archaeologists have identified a 10th-century trend in England where elites incorporated toilets into their homes. The discovery of the latrine indicated the timber building’s high status, suggesting it formed part of Harold’s residence depicted in the Bayeux Tapestry.

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Dr. Duncan Wright, Senior Lecturer in Medieval Archaeology at Newcastle University, led the research published in The Antiquaries Journal and said: “The realisation that in 2006, excavations had found, in effect, an Anglo-Saxon en-suite confirmed to us that this house sits on the site of an elite residence pre-dating the Norman Conquest. Looking at this vital clue, alongside all the other evidence, it is beyond all reasonable doubt that we have here the location of Harold Godwinson’s private power centre, the one famously depicted on the Bayeux Tapestry.”