Specken Castle @museum.de

M: More than 500 years ago, there was a castle not far from here, where Wiesengrund Country Park is today.

F: The castle belonged to the squires von Specken, who were members of the Ammerland region's gentry. As liege men of the Counts of Oldenburg, they commanded the county's military and led its administration in the 15th century.

M: Their castle, a typical lowland stronghold with a main building surrounded by two moats, was built in around 1325 – only to be abandoned and demolished roughly 200 years later.

F: Back in the 1950s, initial investigations had provided clues to the existence of a historical castle complex. A first excavation finally got under way in 2013. It brought to light wall footings, roof tiles, earthenware pots and iron tools, as well as everyday objects that provided important insights into life in the castle.

M: From the wide range of finds and the fact that some of the pots were imported from the Rhineland and southern Lower Saxony, it's obvious that the medieval squires von Specken were fairly wealthy.