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Following a trial pit dug in 2019, this is the first major archaeological excavation at the historic site in three decades and the first ever in this section of the grounds, according to Historic Royal Palaces, the independent charity that cares for the monument. Undertaking these two excavations," says Alfred Hawkins, Curator of Historic Buildings at Historic Royal Palaces, "has provided us with a generational opportunity to enhance our understanding of the evolution of the Chapel of Saint Peter ad Vincula, and the buildings which stood before it." The archaeologists have also found evidence of the history of the site itself, including the charred remnants of an earlier version of the chapel, built by Edward I in the 1280s, which burned down in 1512. "But this is just the tip of the iceberg – there is so much more to learn through further analysis about the people as well as the buildings of one of England's most evocative historic monuments.""