During the summer and autumn of 2020, the Whithorn Trust and AOC Archaeology Group co-hosted a series of lectures focussing on Whithorn and Galloway in the early medieval period. They were put together as part of the development stage of a new project through which we hope to build a reconstruction of Whithorn’s late 8th-early 9th century Northumbrian church. Please enjoy the lectures, available below.
This lecture series was supported by Dumfries and Galloway Regional Community Fund.
Northumbrian Whithorn: Aet Hwitan Aerne – Andy Nicholson, Dumfries and Galloway Council
29th July 2020
The first in a series of talks on Anglo-Saxon Whithorn, a critically important period in the development of the monastery, when Whithorn enters the historical record in the writings of Bede and in the Latin “Miracula Nynie Episcopi” c. 721 AD. We re-examine the evidence in the light of recent discoveries from our #coldcasewhithorn project, with participation from a panel of experts over the coming months.
The Monks Buried in Trees? Revisiting Early Christian Whithorn – Adrián Maldonado, National Museums Scotland
12th August 2020
Dr Adrián Maldonado explains the recent findings of the #ColdCaseWhithorn project and its implications for the established chronology of Whithorn and the development of the monastery.
Exploring Early Christian lifeways at Whithorn: the stable isotope evidence – Shirley Curtis Summers, University of Bradford
5th September 2020
In 2019, #ColdCaseWhithorn tested existing theories against new scientific evidence, to find out who really was buried at Whithorn: presentation by Dr Shirley Curtis Summers, University of Bradford.
Recent Work on the Early Medieval Monastery at Lindisfarne – David Petts, Durham University
9th September 2020
Dr David Petts speaks about recent work at Lindisfarne and the development of early Christianity in Northern England & Southern Scotland.
Please watch via the link below (you do not need to have a Facebook profile to view the video – when you go to Facebook, just click the small cross at top right or ‘not now’ at the bottom to get rid of the message asking you to log in or create an account).
Place-names of Early Medieval Galloway – Gilbert Márkus, Galloway Glens Landscape Partnership Scheme
30th September 2020
Galloway Glens Scheme’s lead place-names researcher Gilbert Márkus has catalogued place-names across seven parishes right in the heart of Galloway: Carsphairn, Dalry, Balmaclellan, Kells, Parton, Crossmichael and Balmaghie. This lecture explores their origins in more detail.
Whithorn and the Solway Firth in the Early Medieval Period – Fiona Edmonds, University of Lancaster
22nd October 2020
An exploration of the historical evidence surrounding life in Whithorn and around the Solway Firth in the early medieval period, with Dr Fiona Edmonds
Rethinking Early Medieval Whithorn – Adrián Maldonado, National Museums Scotland
16th November 2020
After this impressive series of expert talks on early medieval Whithorn, Dr Adrián Maldonado summarises how new research is helping to shape our interpretation of the early medieval cemetery and the nature of the site itself. Increased attention is now being placed on the movement of people in Galloway before, during and after the ‘Northumbrian’ phase, and the role of the church in the ‘Viking town’. This lecture will return to the new dating and isotope results from Whithorn and highlight what we still don’t know, and what we can do about it.
Please watch via the link below (you do not need to have a Facebook profile to view the video – when you go to Facebook, just click the small cross at top right or ‘not now’ at the bottom to get rid of the message asking you to log in or create an account)
