Conference Review: Towton: the largest and bloodiest battle ever fought in England?
On 4th October 2006, a large audience gathered in the Yorkshire Museum’s Tempest
Anderson Hall to hear the latest results of the ongoing Towton Battlefield Archaeology
Survey project.
The opening address of this eagerly-awaited tenth anniversary conference was delivered by
Graeme Rimer, Keeper of Weapons at the Royal Armouries in Leeds. Graeme referred to
TBAS’ important early work on the mass grave discovered at Towton Hall in 1996, made
famous in Channel 4’s Secrets of the Dead series, and announced that next year Oxbow will
publish a second edition of the excavation report likewise entitled Blood Red Roses.
Osteologist Malin Holst then reviewed the skeletal evidence uncovered in 1996: the remains
of at least 36 individuals crammed into a single pit, mostly in a west-east or east-west (ie
Christian) alignment, with one body placed north-south to fill in a gap at the top of the grave.
The grave group consisted of males aged between 16 and 46 or over, with clearly identifiable
battle wounds including sword cuts and war-hammer injuries; their bones indicated that many
had strenuous physical occupations, while the presence of healed wounds suggested that some
were battle veterans.
This exciting find catalysed an intensive programme of archaeological research led by Tim
Sutherland, Honorary Research Fellow in Battlefield Archaeology at the University of
Bradford. One of Tim’s early tasks was to investigate the historical landmarks associated with
Towton, including tumuli and other sites traditionally supposed to represent mass graves. His
conclusions, presented in the second paper of the day, challenge or disprove a number of
these long-held assumptions. Fieldwork has indicated that tumuli around the battlefield are of
prehistoric origin; other ‘graves’ appear to be geological anomalies or, in one case, a
Romano-British enclosure; while the head of Dacre’s Cross may derive from a medieval
boundary marker or preacher’s cross. The only landmark that seems to have any genuine
relationship to the battle is, ironically, the most ephemeral: the site of the burr tree where
Lord Dacre is believed to have died.
This point was expanded in the following paper, jointly presented by Tim Sutherland and
metal detector specialist Simon Richardson. Tim and Simon represent a highly fruitful
collaboration between professional archaeologists and detectorists, and their work stands as
an exemplar to the irresponsible treasure hunting and ‘nighthawk’ fraternities. Together they
have developed a painstaking methodology for battlefield survey, in the process exposing the
shortcomings and inaccuracies of the GPS system frequently used for pinpointing find-spots
in the field. Among the most significant of their findings is a large concentration of metal
objects including arrowheads, sword components and harness fittings in the vicinity of
Dacre’s Tree, suggesting that this area did indeed form some focal point for the combat on
Palm Sunday 1461.
Leading on from this Dr. David Starley, Science Officer at the Royal Armouries, gave some
insights into the metallurgy and technology of the Towton arrowheads. Analysis has shown
that a common arrowhead used in the battle (a triangular, broad-headed form) was made by
an unusual process, with the blades being attached to the socket by brazing. This raises the
interesting possibility that the ‘Towton’ arrowheads represent an early form of mass
production, with a smith forging blades and sockets in the normal way, and a team of workers
brazing the components together at smaller hearths.
After lunch, Tim Sutherland opened the afternoon session with a thrilling revelation: TBAS
has located one or more of the mass graves that were subsequently opened at Richard III’s
command for the remains to be re-interred in consecrated ground. Situated in the vicinity of
Dacre’s Tree, one pit contained the small bones (fingers, toes, vertebrae and a few articulated
fragments) that would typically be left behind after a mass exhumation; close by, a second
likely grave pit remains to be excavated. Tim also discussed the latest findings from the
environs of Towton Hall, suggesting that Richard III’s vanished chantry chapel does not lie
on Chapel Hill but in Chapel Garth, within the Hall’s gardens. His presentations included
video footage of TBAS’ most recent investigations, including the discovery of further human
remains immediately adjacent to and within Towton Hall itself.
The following paper by Malin Holst gave a moving picture of the lives and deaths of
individuals found within a short distance of the 1996 mass grave. Two skeletons lie with their
upper bodies inaccessibly buried under the Hall’s foundations, while other communal and
single inhumations have been excavated from beneath the dining room floor. The latter
include a group of four males carefully interred in an east-west orientation, bearing signs of
hereditary disease suggesting that they may come from the same family. Of the single
inhumations (which appear to have been placed close to mass graves, inviting speculation that
they may represent the leaders of discrete household or military units), one man had flat
stones placed on his shoulders like epaulettes, possibly to hold his head in an upright position,
with a nearby assemblage of stones that may have been the footings of a grave marker. Malin
again identified signs of leg inflammation, spinal deformities and dental problems, a poignant
reminder that many of the combatants at Towton must have suffered from chronic aches and
pains before meeting their deaths on the field.
Tim Sutherland’s closing paper, a re-interpretation of the events of March 29th 1461, was the
most controversial presentation of the day. Tim combined historical and archaeological
evidence to argue that the numbers of both participants and casualties at Towton could have
been grossly inflated by Yorkist propaganda, and may not in fact have been significantly
higher than the figures recorded for other Wars of the Roses battles. He also put forward a
persuasive theory to account for apparent discrepancies and contradictions in the historical
record, suggesting that the battle now known as Towton actually encompassed the preceding
actions at Ferrybridge and Dintingdale, the whole being fought within a much tighter timeframe than most historians assume. This is based on the medieval day beginning at 6am with
Prime, rather than being the period from midnight – midnight as a day is perceived in the
modern world. Sadly, the necessity to vacate the Yorkshire Museum at 5pm put a premature
end to the lively debate which could otherwise have continued for hours!
Thanks and congratulations are due to all the speakers at this excellent and thought-provoking
conference, and especially to the organisers Tim Sutherland and Simon Richardson. Their
work is at last beginning to resolve the abounding mysteries concerning the Battle of Towton
– and it is to be hoped that in future, the TBAS will be able to answer many more of the
questions still remaining regarding the course of events on Palm Sunday 1461.
Helen Cox
October 2006
Published in the Towton Herald, Winter 2006