Located inside the massive earthwork defences of an Iron Age hill fort at Old Sarum in Wiltshire, the medieval city was largely founded by William the Conqueror who made it the venue for one of Norman England’s most important political events – a gathering of the country’s nobility at which all England’s mainly Norman barons and lords swore loyalty to William. The Old Sarum geophysical survey is being carried out by archaeologists from the University of Southampton - and is giving scholars an unprecedented and unique opportunity to more fully understand Norman town planning.  University of Southampton 
 
 Archaeologists reveal layout of medieval city at Old Sarum Ref: 14/219 03 December 2014 
 
 Picture courtesy of English Heritage 
 
 Archaeologists from the University of Southampton have revealed for the first time the plan of a network of buildings in a once thriving medieval city at the historic site of Old Sarum, near Salisbury. “Our survey shows where individual buildings are located and from this we can piece together a detailed picture of the urban plan within the city walls.” 
 
 
 
 The research was conducted as part of the Old Sarum and Stratford-Sub-Castle Archaeological Survey Project, directed by Kristian Strutt and fellow Southampton archaeologists Timothy Sly and Dominic Barker. They concentrated their survey around the inner and outer baileys of what was once a fortification, with its origins in the Iron Age and the Roman conquest.1 
 
 
 
 Their investigations reveal the layout of a settlement including structures from the late 11th century, contemporary with the construction of a cathedral and castle. However, by the early 13th century, the political and diocesan centre at Old Sarum was proving too cramped and exposed to the elements – and was therefore moved, lock, stock and barrel, to a totally new location, Salisbury, two and a half miles to the south. It was the location of the original Salisbury 
 
 It combines a royal castle and cathedral within an Iron Age fortification 
 
 Its ecclesiastical power waned during the 1220s when a new cathedral was built in New Sarum (present day Salisbury) 
 
 Henry VIII ended the castle's use in 1514 
 
 The Romans, Normans and Saxons have all left their mark there 
 
 For 150 years it was a major centre of government but its influence declined during the 13th Century as New Sarum flourished 
 
 Source: English Heritage 
 
 It was originally an Iron Age fort, established around 400 BC, and occupied by the Romans after the conquest of Britain in AD 43.
– A prehistoric fortress is home to a much later structure: what may be one of the biggest medieval palaces ever discovered, one whose remnants remain buried beneath the ground, the Independent reports. The site in southern England is surrounded by huge earthworks that date to the Iron Age. Researchers used ground-penetrating radar and other technology to investigate what's under the grass within the inner and outer baileys of the former fort, the BBC reports. Without doing any digging, they found a large complex that leading medieval-building expert Dr. Edward Impey believes is an early 12th-century castle. It measures about 560 feet by 210 feet and features 10-foot-thick walls and what appears to be a 200-foot-long great hall, the Independent notes. "The prime candidate for constructing it is perhaps Henry I," says Impey. "Archaeologists and historians have known for centuries that there was a medieval city at Old Sarum," notes survey leader Kristian Strutt, "but until now there has been no proper plan of the site." The archaeologists' survey uncovered residential areas, evidence of kilns or furnaces, and an open area—"perhaps for mustering resources or people"—near some large structures, per a press release. "From this we can piece together a detailed picture of the urban plan," says Strutt. The Iron Age fort at the site was likely built around 400 BC and taken over by Romans in 43 AD, the BBC notes. But by the onset of the 13th century, the city built in the same place became too tight and weather-beaten for habitation and was abandoned in favor of today's Salisbury, which is located roughly two miles away. (Another 'lost city' was recently investigated using similar techniques in Cambodia.)