In a true underdog story, a group of "amateurs" used historical material to locate the buried remains of Collyweston Palace, owned by the grandmother of Henry VIII, Margaret Beaufort.

In the English shire of Northampton, a local historical society had been searching for the palace for 5 years, and located it with the help of ground-penetrating radar.

"We're just a bunch of amateurs really, with no money, no plans, just a lot of enthusiasm and against all the odds we have unearthed this," Chris Close, a member of the Collyweston Historical and Preservation Society, or "CHAPS" for short.

Collyweston Manor was listed as a historical site by Historic England back in 1967, but the only evidence anything was there were fish ponds and a barn. The first inkling the CHAPS volunteers had that they discovered something important was the moment their radar scans indicated buried walls and foundations of the palace.

Falling into disrepair by 1650, it was bought by the Dutch Tryon family who built another house on the site. The following excavations done by CHAPS needed the cooperation of several landowners.

CHAPS had raised £14,000 ($17,500) in local grant money for the project, and fortunately their efforts not only succeeded in locating and identifying the foundations and stone moldings of the buildings, but they attracted the attention of better-funded professionals who could help out.

Currently in the second stage of excavations, more radar scans will be employed to ascertain what each building might have been used for while diggers carefully ensure any artifacts present are preserved for a local museum exhibit at Lady Margaret's Chapel in Collyweston.

"We will also be able to obtain other useful information that will enable us to work out the architectural style along with other important dating evidence," CHAPS said. "As far as we can tell, the last royal to stay at Collyweston was Elizabeth I who is recorded as holding court here on 3 August 1566."

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