By Coquetdale Community Archaeology (CCA) in the UK has been doing archeological research for over a decade. During the past few years, however, the group has narrowed its focus on a medieval settlement a couple of miles upstream from the town of Alwinton in northern England.
Site visit three with @Lee_McFarlane68, to the Coquetdale Community #Archaeology excavations at Linbrigg double deserted #medieval settlement,#Northumberland; first deserted in the 14th century due to Scottish raids, and again in the 18th century due to shifting ownerships. pic.twitter.com/2UAx7U5frb
— Don O'Meara (@don_o_meara) July 12, 2022
What they found buried there blew their minds.
Recently, the group couldn’t believe what they stumbled upon: a 700-year-old chapel near a medieval manor.
The Daily Call reports:
The 100-person-strong Coquetdale Community Archaeology (CCA) group started up their explorations of local historical sites back in 2011, and recently revealed their latest, incredible discovery, according to the Northumberland Gazette.
“To date we have worked on a 14th-century building that was probably a farmhouse, a grain-drying kiln and a set of much-damaged medieval remains that had been repurposed in the 17th century, probably for stock management,” CCA chair David Jones told the outlet. “Every year we found items that did not belong in an upland farming community. Typically these were blocks of decorated stone that were almost certainly ecclesiastical in origin. Some of them were too large to have come far.”
Back in 2022, the group found a piece of colored glass, which they believe must have come from continental Europe. “Through lots of archive research we discovered that the site we were studying had been on a medieval manor called Aldensheles, and that there had been a chapel on that manor in the early 14th century,” Jones continued.
Historic England gave the group permission to scan the area to collect LiDAR data — this means the grounds could be surveyed without being physically disturbed. Similar techniques are used deep in the jungles of South and Central America to find ancient cultural ruins.
Now, they’re making incredible discoveries all the time. The Northumberland Gazette writes that “since the discovery, the group found a letter in Latin that mentions the medieval chapel in the National Archives in London and found that it was dedicated to St Nicholas.
The letter was an inquiry into alienation in mortmain for the man who either owned the manor, or was the tenant in chief, where the chapel was located. As a penalty, he had to pay and get a chaplain to say Mass every day in the chapel for his soul and the souls of all Christians.”
The group loves what they do. David said, “The two things coming together have been really very, very rewarding. We hope to go back to the site this summer if we get permission because there are still questions to answer.”
Outside of making wonderful archeological finds, he told the newspaper that the group “also enjoy talks and guided archaeology walks.”
What more could you ask for?
Going to rebuild church or map & build church in 3D models on computer
Make Public