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.
Mother Nikola and the sisters from Minster viewing the 7th Century church from the viewing platform We were delighted to welcome Mother Nikola and the sisters from Minster Abbey to view our Anglo-Saxon church at Lyminge today. This was special because of the ancient connection between Minster-in-Thanet and Lyminge. At the end of the 8th … Continue reading A very special visit
There is more to our project than just the archaeological excavation of the Anglo-Saxon church. In order to move on to the next phase, we are delighted to announce that we have appointed White Cliffs Countryside Partnership (WCCP) as our new Community Engagement Manager. Those of you who have attended our public meetings or who … Continue reading The next phase of our project
So after 26 miles over 3 days, we began our final day of this inaugural walk of the Royal Saxon Way beside the Little Stour at Wickhambreaux. The river flows beside flooded gravel pits, so there are great expanses of water and a landscape that is very green and lush. As we approached Preston we … Continue reading Launch of the Royal Saxon Way – the Last Day
On the third day of our pilgrimage, we started off at Bishopsbourne. It was another bright and sunny day. We headed to St Peter's, Bridge where sadly we were not able to see inside the church because there was a service of dedication in progress for a new stained glass window. We marked this down … Continue reading Launch of the Royal Saxon Way – Day 3
After a great start yesterday, we started Day 2 of our inaugural pilgrimage at Lyminge, close to the source of the Nailbourne as it bubbles up from the chalk below the church of St Mary and St Ethelburga. We walked along the Elham Valley Way to St Mary the Virgin, Elham, and then on beyond … Continue reading Launch of the Royal Saxon Way – Day 2
So we have reached the end of the dig. The last planning was completed today and we had a drone on site to complete a photogrammetrical survey from the air. This will give us a set of perfectly vertical overlapping pictures so we have a complete image of the site tied in via GPS so … Continue reading Day 45 – The end of the dig
The Royal Saxon Way is our new pilgrimage route linking Folkestone to Minster-in-Thanet via Lyminge and the Elham Valley. It celebrates the Anglo-Saxon queens and princesses who founded and ran as abbesses some of the churches along the route. You can read more here, and discover more about this little-known aspect of Anglo-Saxon society which … Continue reading Launch of the Royal Saxon Way – Day 1
Today was another day of planning as we carry out the last few tasks necessary before the dig ends on Saturday. We had our architect and contractors on site today to begin planning for the back-filling and the laying of the new paths. This should begin in the middle of September, so there will remain … Continue reading Day 44 – The wrap-up continues
It was a day of recording on site today, so no discoveries to report. Although we did keep out the finds table from the weekend Open Day, and we did have a steady flow of visitors through the day. We were visited by 25 members of the Friends of Canterbury Archaeological Trust and the Finding … Continue reading Day 43 – The final week begins
As Monday is a bank holiday, there is no working on site today. So there was an opportunity to visit the Roman fort of Portus Lemanis, some 6.4 miles to the south west of Lyminge towards the coast. In the Roman period, this fort lay at the mouth of the River East Rother, then known … Continue reading Site visit to the possible folk origin for Lyminge
