Amateur historians have heard stories of a lost Tudor palace – Generic English

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Dr Delman, whose research helped revive the hunt, said the discovery had the potential to enrich public knowledge about a former royal power base, commissioned by a Tudor woman, “making it a globally significant site national and international”.

In early February, volunteers took out their shovels for a two-day dig, one of many planned this year, to better understand what the palace looked like.

Down an alley on a small patch of grass, a dozen residents — including young professionals, parents, a former prison guard and several retirees — dug into four small fenced trenches under the watchful eye of Jennifer Browning, 50 , an archaeologist from the University of Leicester Archaeological Services who was hired to lead the excavation that day.

In one trench, earth was carefully removed from what appeared to be a flagstone floor and foundation stones. In another, part of a wall had begun to emerge.

“We don’t know exactly what they are, but they’re bound to be there,” said Ms. Browning, standing over a 3-foot-by-5-foot trench and pointing to three large stones in a neat line about two feet below. “The problem is that in a small trench like this you only get a small snapshot.”

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