An archaeological dig at the site of Cusop Castle on the Herefordshire–Powys border has uncovered a series of fascinating finds.

The Digging for Cusop project, funded by the National Lottery and run by the Cusop History Group, opened six trenches across the site, with the most significant discoveries coming from the two trenches nearest the field gate.

During the dig, which took place between the 4th and 15th of June, volunteers uncovered the remains of a substantial stone wall cut into the bank close to the church.

Less than a metre below the surface, they also found evidence of what appears to have been a medieval forge, with furnace slag pointing to metalworking activity in the 13th or 14th century.

Just beneath the surface, the team revealed a stone trackway and a drainage channel, while another long‑mysterious feature on the site was finally identified as an old marl pit, once used to extract gravelly soil for building.

Taken together, the discoveries suggest that the earthwork at Cusop was constructed rapidly as the Normans advanced into Wales, before being left behind when attention shifted to strengthening other nearby castles.