Archeological Evidence

Mysteriousbritain has recently been asked to assist a group trying to put together a selection of haunted houses/castles/areas-pretty much anything where the sightings can be backed up with archeological evidence.

Any ideas?

Can you clarify what you mean, please? Sightings of what? How would archeological evidence 'back up' such sightings?

Let's see if this can fit the bill.
The Drury Lane in London has long been considered the world's "most haunted" theatre.
Among its many ghostly denizens was the so-called Man in Grey. He enjoyed a respectable career by ghostly standards, being first seen during King George I's reign and last seen in 1960. He was described as a tall, stern-faced man with a dignified expression about him. He was wearing a long grey cape, tall riding boots, a wig, a plain tricorn hat and a had a sword by his side.
All he did was appearing out of the first gallery wall and walk right into the opposing wall. If someone tried to confront him he just disappered into thin air, only to reappear on the other side.
In 1840 (or 1840, the sources vary) the body of a murdered man was allegedly found behind the wall whence the Man in Grey used to appear by workmen remodelling the building.
It has often been alleged that this man was murdered during Queen Anne's reign and hidden there but it's probably incorrect: while the Drury Lane was built in 1663 during King Charles II's reign, it has since been completely rebuilt three times. The present building was opened in 1812 after the previous one burnt to the ground in 1809.
According to traditions the body was given a proper burial... yet the Man in Grey continued his visits to the theatre until he finally disappeared in 1960.
Some writers (for example Frank Smyth) the man in Grey was "triggered" by particulary gifted individuals working in theatre. The last "trigger" is suspected to be the acclaimed critic W.J. McQueen Pope, an habitual presence at the Drury Lane: he had a great knowledge of theatrical history and was a strong "supporter" of the Drury Lane's ghosts. A few days before McQueen Pope died, in 1960, the Men in Grey paid his last visit to the theatre.
But it wasn't the end of the mystery.

The information we were given was a bit basic, hence I am not sure whether a Roman soldier being seen anywhere near a ruined Roman Fort would be classed as enough archeological evidence. However, it is an interesting idea.

The only archeological legend is the one about the Rillaton Cup in Cornwall.
Apparently a legend existed that a druid possessed an ever-refreshing golden cup, who was seen by people passing a burial mound. When the mound was excavated a golden cup was discovered, that is now in the British Museum. It is quite famous, but does the legend date after the discovery of the cup?

Basically they want as much evidence as is possible-A Roman ghost near a fort is a
start but then hopefully there would be something about his outfit to suggest a
particular legion and archeological evidence or historical records to place this
legion at the fort,or something like the Treasurers house in York,where they
were only viewed from the knee upwards as the original Roman road was much lower than the modern surface. Ideally they would like evidence linking to a particular ghost but they know it is not always possible and alot of the evidence is purely circumstantial.

Ian. Are we talking about a recent sighting? Are the sightings still on-going?

They aren't looking at any one particular case or sighting. What they want is to compile a list of cases where there is archaeological evidence in support of them. So it could be old or new cases really.

With old cases you need to make sure you have access to original case reports and statements. Ghost cases in 'Ghosts of Anywhereshire ...' have often been summarised, edited and in some cases exaggerated. The same goes for newspaper reports. I would never use material from such sources in serious research.

I've always wondered if mediums use archaeological techniques when giving their 'readings'. I'm thinking more about ones who go to a building and then report a 'presence' moving along a corridor and then through a wall as if it was once a door. To the trained eye, it would maybe be possible to see where a door once was - perhaps mediums pick up on this sort of thing.

Back to the subject. I think it is very admirable to match up archaeoligcal evidence with hauntings, however this wouldn't prove anything, but it would lend a credance to sightings of 'Romans near a fort'.

In the case of Romans, remember they were pretty much everywhere in Britain during their 400 year occupation so it wouldn't prove much wherever one was seen. What would be better is to match up, for example, where a Grey Lady has been seen, and see if there were any buldings in the immediate vicinity and see if the route she walks follows the plan of the building.

Did the Roman units have identifying insignia for each legion. I dare some there some equipment changes throughout the time they were here. It would be good to get a very detailed description of a Roman ghost. Shame one has not been seen tossing a coin we can recognise and date

There's a story from the Galleries of Justice in Nottingham about the apparition of a prison officer being seen. Apparently, the apparition was so detailed that they used the witnesses description to look through their records and actually identify the precise ex-employee.

I suppose the validity of historical/ archaeological research into paranormal reports rests on the assumption that the mechanism of what's going on is some sort of "stone tape" theory where witnesses are actually seeing the past, or the past is invading on the present in some way.