LONDON (Reuters Life!) – Archaeologists believe they have found evidence of the first use of firearms on a British battlefield after fragments of shattered guns were unearthed on a site that saw one of the bloodiest battles ever fought on English soil.

The bronze barrel fragments and a very early lead shot were discovered by a metal detectorist working closely with a team that has been trying to unlock the secrets of the 1461 battle of Towton, in Yorkshire, northern England.

The battle, fought over the throne between Lancastrian King Henry VI and England's first Yorkist king, Edward IV during the Wars of the Roses, has gone down in history as the bloodiest ever fought on the island....