ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book presents the results of the three seasons of excavation undertaken at Wigmore Castle. It can be seen from the above that the two areas chosen for excavation were not in any way dictated by wider archaeological imperatives and the excavated areas were correspondingly small. The book aims to publish the excavation results and artefactual and ecofactual assemblages from the castle and view them in their own context but also in that of other Marcher castles and that of the powerful family for whom Wigmore Castle was its chief seat. The castle was extremely ruinous and the unexpected collapse of part of the Southern Curtain Wall necessitated both the consolidation of the castle and an exploration into why the fabric was unstable.
