Exploring the legacy of Ethelburga – a community project focused on the Anglo-Saxon heritage of Lyminge, a village in the Elham Valley in East Kent.
Because of the bad weather over night, Day 29 was a wash-out so far as digging was concerned. We did however manage to get in our standard half day on Saturday, when we continued with excavating the burials in the chancel of the Anglo-Saxon church. At the moment, we have no reason to think these … Continue reading Day 30 – Round-up on a revelatory 5 weeks of digging
We have begun to uncover the first burial within the chancel, which is up against the eastern wall of the Anglo-Saxon apse. This is a prominent position in the church. As the body is of a juvenile, perhaps 8 or 9 years old, it seems unlikely that this is a burial that took place when … Continue reading Day 22 – Face to face with a villager of the past
This is real-time archaeology. Ideas come and ideas go when more evidence comes to light. So yesterday we were quite convinced that there was a wall between the chancel and the nave of the Anglo-Saxon church. Today we know otherwise. The fragment of wall with the tell-tale pink mortar, that yesterday we thought proved there … Continue reading Day 17 – The Chancel triple arcade is revealed
Thursday was a very hot day and it was decided to work only a half day to avoid the heat and humidity of the afternoon. Nevertheless we made reasonable progress over the morning. The focus was on the cross-wall separating the chancel from the nave. If you have been following the blog, you will know … Continue reading Day 16 – The chancel cross-wall revealed
It is strange how one can pass something familiar many, many times and not appreciate what it actually is. So we have the remarkable discovery that the round arch of the original Norman south door to the current church is still preserved in the stone work above the existing pointed Gothic doorway. You can see … Continue reading Day 15 – A discovery and some questions
This is the view we have been waiting for. With the overlying path removed, we can now see the full extent of the chancel with its apsidal (curved) eastern end. The walls are not preserved to a great height, so we are very fortunate that they survive at all. We haven't got down to the … Continue reading Day 10 – The whole chancel apse is revealed
