 |
Home
The Bondington Project - Editorial
Bondington Image Library
|
|
|
|
The Bondington Project - Editorial
Location: Northumberland
Tales of skeletal remains, carved burial slabs, a 12th century church and hidden graveyard are some of the tantalizing facts that kick started the Bondington Project.
 Team members have been exploring several sites just outside Berwick-upon-Tweed in Northumberland, to see what mediaeval treasures may have lain hidden for over 700 years.
  There were no remains to hint at what lay beneath the surface of the fields.
The sites were originally home to St Leonard’s Nunnery which was established as a Cistercian house in the reign of David I of Scotland (1124 – 1153). It’s known that the Nunnery was very badly damaged during the battle of Halidon Hill in 1333 when the area of Bondington was under siege by the English army. By the 18th century, there were no upstanding remains to hint at what lay beneath the surface of the fields.
 With lots of help from volunteers, some equipped with metal detectors, team members have made a number of startling discoveries. There’s no doubting the significance of the site which has been the scene of much conflict between the Scottish and English armies.
In September 2002, the project group held two field walking events at the Nunnery Site, where the public were invited to join in the hunt for mediaeval treasure. Turnout was excellent and volunteers found 66 pieces of bone, metal, shell, glass and 70 pieces of pottery.
 The most significant find was a pilgrim badge, and team members are getting specialist advice from archaeologists based at Edinburgh University to find out its origin. It’s possible the badge may have been dropped by a pilgrim during the 12th century. Other finds include lead shot which the team is trying to date with help from the Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds.
The present hunt for remains of the Nunnery was given further impetus after the discovery of a medieval stone coffin cover hidden beneath dense undergrowth. Brian Chappell, a member of the Bondington project, had been alerted to the fact that stone burial slabs might be found near his house. Reports and aerial surveys of the site taken in 1976 established the location of the Nunnery site and indicated that Brian’s house was along its boundary. The stone cover, broken in three pieces when it was found, was originally about 1.4 to 1.5 m long and features characteristic 12th century ornamentation.
Members are gaining a variety of new skills as they are being trained in mediaeval history, fieldwork and geophysics. Other planned activities are further public field walking events, geophysical surveys, designing an education pack with help from local schools and possibly an oral history archive. In July 2003 there is a planned celebration of the battle of Halidon Hill, when the team members hope to build a reconstruction of the Nunnery. If you’d like to get involved, keep an eye on the Bondington project for details.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
