(En) VERÃO DE DESCOBERTAS EM LINDISFARNE

De anéis com nomes anglo-saxões raros, a moedas e forno medieval — as escavações deste ano em Lindisfarne forneceram um novo vislumbre da vida na ilha antes, durante e após os ataques vikings do Século VIII, que atingiram a comunidade monástica.

Em setembro, arqueólogos da DigVentures e da Universidade de Durham retornaram a Lindisfarne, onde a equipe escavava os restos do antigo mosteiro medieval da ilha, fundado pelo rei Oswald da Nortúmbria e famoso pelos ataques dos vikings em 793 dC. A escavação, agora em seu quarto ano, foi totalmente financiada pelo público e teve uma série de descobertas significativas.

While investigating an area that includes part of a cemetery associated with the early monastery, the team unearthed fragments of three beautifully decorated namestones, bringing the total found in the last few years to seven. One is inscribed with what the team has called ‘one of the most beautiful examples of early medieval knotwork found in recent years.’ Another is inscribed with runes, which the team is hoping to decipher. ‘Runes were particularly important to the Northumbrian church. These small, commemorative markers are unique to the 8th and 9th centuries, and each one gives us the name of a real person who lived on the island at or around the time of the Viking raids,’ said Dr David Petts, from Durham University, who is working in collaboration with DigVentures on the site.

FONTE: Current Archaeology

‘We’re starting to see that there’s quite a variety of people buried here, and differences in the way they were buried, which is direct evidence of the community living around and supporting the monastery,’ said Brendon Wilkins from DigVentures.

Analysis of human remains found in previous years shows that men, women, and individuals of all ages were buried at the site, indicating that the graves probably include the lay population rather than monks. Some were local, but isotope results indicate that others came all the way from western Scotland. Although some lived in good health, other skeletons show evidence of pathologies that may have brought them to the island hoping to be healed.

A pair of plain, copper-alloy rings were also found, which is the first time any jewellery of this period has been discovered on the site. Other interesting artefacts include Anglo-Saxon coins, some minted in Northumbria, but others had come all the way from Wessex, providing a helpful reminder that Lindisfarne was extremely well connected, and that monasteries were a place of trade and exchange.

The team also continued to investigate the remains of an early medieval building, which seems to have been constructed on top of an even earlier industrial oven and which could provide evidence of copper- or glass-working on the island.

‘It has been an eventful excavation and has produced a lot of new evidence about life on the island during this tumultuous time, and we’re already looking forward to coming back next year so that we can continue our investigation and find out more about what was happening at this important site,’ said Brendon.

DigVentures will launch Dig and Finds Room opportunities for the 2020 season on 1 December. To read more about the discoveries so far and to find out how to join the project, visit digventures.com.

FONTE: Current Archaeology

https://www.archaeology.co.uk/articles/summer-of-finds-on-lindisfarne.htm

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