Raiders of the Lost Early Medieval Monastery

An evening with St Andrews Archaeological Society

On Thursday 10 April, I found myself trading the beach, sunshine, and twenty-degree weather for the darkened interior of School I and the company of the St Andrews Archaeological Society. At 6pm, I found my seat, the blinds were lowered, and David Petts, from the Department of Archaeology at Durham University, took to the podium to discuss his findings from nine years of excavations on the site of the early medieval monastery at Lindisfarne. 

Lindisfarne is an island off the northeast coast of England, and the monastery was believed to have first been established in AD 635 by King Oswald. At this point, I began to feel grateful for having read Unruly: The Ridiculous Lives of England's Kings and Queens by David Mitchell over winter break. The lecture began with a brief history of the monastery as well as medieval Christianity, which was far more riveting than you would imagine. Think saints (this one was named Cuthbert), Vikings, and Braveheart (the last one is a bit of an exaggeration, but it’s probably not too far off). All in all, fascinating stuff.

Perhaps the most interesting part of the lecture was the practical side of it. Dr Petts walked us through the excavation process, which has been ongoing since 2016 in collaboration with DigVentures and Durham University. He explained how all the data is recorded entirely digitally and the limitations they face due to weather, the size of the site, and restrictions of modernisation — a few years ago, while excavating, they accidentally went through someone's telephone wire.

Beyond the obvious archaeological aspects of the talk, Dr Petts also delved into parallel subject areas, including geoarchaeological work, discovering the way that early medieval people interacted with the land throughout history. He also referenced other nearby monasteries and archaeological sites from a similar time period to illustrate the rationale behind different beliefs and assumptions, as well as to highlight popular building techniques of the time and create a more robust picture of the time and its architecture. 

For me, the most interesting bit came next: skeletons. One of the unique aspects of Lindisfarne is the unusually high quality of skeletal remains, which allowed them to identify the cemetery as a secular one, containing men, women, children, and babies. It also allowed them to determine things like their diets and mobility (whether the people buried were local or brought from further away to be buried). This is the part where I began to feel the most out of my depth. Isotope analysis is an area of expertise for many of the members of the St Andrews Archaeological Society, and so I listened in awe as my fellow attendees began discussing in depth the reliability of isotope analysis for seasonal diets, quickly transitioning into a multitude of questions about the extinct Great Auk and it’s anatomy and habitat. Any confidence remaining from my knowledge of medieval British Kings and Queens (thank you, David Mitchell) quickly faded. 

But, regardless of my lack of previous knowledge about Lindisfarne, the early medieval period, and great auks, I found the talk both engaging and easy to follow, and I left feeling much smarter than before. I also had the opportunity to speak to Dr Petts after the talk and learn more about his work studying the rise of Christianity in Britain. His passion is both apparent and contagious, and this event served as an important reminder of the rich and storied history of our surrounding areas. The Archeological Society’s next event will be on 8 May, and it will discuss medieval ceramics — if you have any interest in ‘local’ history, you won’t want to miss it.

Photo provided by University of St. Andrews Archaeological Society