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Post-medieval era (16th century )
A hunting lodge was present on the site of Metchley Fort as early as the 16th century, likely near the ''retentura'' and ''latera praetorii''. It was eventually demolished around 1781 when the earthworks of the fort were first identified.
Discovery and excavations ( present)
The remains were first identified around 1781 by William Hutton (he published his findings on Metchley Fort in his ''History of Birmingham''),[PDF Leaflet on Metchley Fort]
/ref> although there were conflicting opinions on the origins of the earthworks - the common consensus at the time agreed that the fort was Norse in origin. The fort was confirmed to date to the 1st and 2nd century AD in excavations that took place in the 1930s, starting in 1934, when the University of Birmingham Medical School was constructed. Further excavations took place in the 1940s and 1950s. On 28 September 1953 the Lord Mayor of Birmingham, G. H. W. Griffith, opened the newly restored north-west corner of the fort. The reconstruction of the corner did not last long, however, as it was later destroyed by vandals before 1956.[ Victor Skipp, ''The History of Greater Birmingham - down to 1830'', 1987, V. H. T. Skipp ()] More extensive excavations took place in the 1960s which uncovered various timber buildings within the fort. Mick Aston, who later became well-known on the TV programme Time Team, worked on the Metchley excavations in the late 1960s. Discoveries from excavations in the early 2000s included ovens and hearths, timber gateways, roads, the headquarters building, vessels from the Severn Valley and the Malvern Hills, and tableware from France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
.
The remains of the fort are one of thirteen Scheduled monuments in Birmingham.
Gallery
File:MetchleyFortNorthernGate.jpg, Site of the north-western gate and the main street entering the fort; from the first fort, constructed circa AD 48 and pictured here in 2023
File:MetchleyFortViaDecumana.jpg, Site of a '' via decumana'', a rear road into the fort, pictured here in 2023
File:MetchleyFortRetentura.jpg, Site of the '' retentura'' of the fort, overlooking the '' vicus'' and ditch, pictured here in 2023
File:Metchley Fort 2023.png, Site of the '' praetentura'' of the fort, pictured here in 2023
File:Metchley fort looking north in 2019.jpg, View of the site of Metchley Fort from the approximate centre of the fort, pictured in 2019. The position of a Roman street through the fort has been marked by the two lines of yellow bricks in the pavement. This street ran between the north-west gate and the south-east gate.
References
{{Reflist
Buildings and structures in Birmingham, West Midlands
Metchley
Scheduled monuments in the West Midlands (county)
Former populated places in the West Midlands (county)
Edgbaston
Demolished buildings and structures in the West Midlands (county)