On this page are reports, in reverse chronological order, on talks that were given at SWAAG monthly meetings in 2024. To jump to any one report, click the relevant link:
Nov – Who lived in East Yorkshire?
Oct – Bread ovens and campaign medals
Sept – Dr Arthur Raistrick: polymath
Jul – In the footsteps of nuns
Jun – The solar eclipse of 1927
Jun – Vikings in Newfoundland
May – Out of the bottle!
Apr – The Point of Oxan
Mar – Medieval Lindisfarne
Feb – Botanical remains at Healaugh
Jan – Changing environment and Roman artefacts
November – Who lived in East Yorkshire?
Following our AGM in November, SWAAG member Ian Earnshaw gave a presentation entitled “Who lived in eastern Yorkshire before, during and after the Roman occupation of England – does anyone really know?”
The land covering Eastern Yorkshire is thought to have been occupied by a tribe originating from the Paris-area of France, in the Iron-Age and into the Roman Period. They were called the “Parisi” tribe. The main facts for this include both Ptolemy’s book “Geographica” written around 150AD, which placed “…near a bay suitable for a harbour the Parisii and the town Peturia” and his separate maps. They are also placed in the same area during the Iron Age because of the chariot burials in round barrows found near Arras Farm, Market Weighton, which also appear in the Paris, France area. The tribe seems to have been quite separate from the “Brigantes” tribe who happened to occupy the rest of Northern England during this same time.
The known facts behind this theory have, over the years, raised doubts and then largely been discredited, leaving only the book “Geographica” written by Ptolemy firstly in Greek, then later copied and translated into Arabic, and then further copied and translated into Latin. Unfortunately, we do not have any of the original books available to us today, so we do not really know who Ptolemy was writing about.
The only real facts that we do know about them is that their tribal name ends with the letters “RISI”, starts with a letter “P” and is at least six characters long. If you look at the tribes living in the North Sea and English Channel areas during Roman times, the only alternative to the “Parisi” tribe is the “Phrisii” tribe as the Romans called them, or the “Frisians” as we call them, living on the coast in Friesland in the north of the Netherlands.
As an observation, if the upright on the second letter in the name “Phrisii” is lost due to some typo such as running out of ink, poor quality paper etc. you will have the “Parisi” as now living in Friesland. Which, with the many copies of the book over the hundreds of years, must cast some doubt on who were the people that Ptolemy wrote about. The “Phrisii” were Celtic at this time, and well known to the Romans as expert sailors, traders, cavalry/soldiers and salt producers. They were also pirates, and you could say the original Vikings.
The “Phrisii” homeland became almost totally depopulated in the 2nd and 3rd centuries due to rising sea levels, exactly around the time when Ptolemy was writing about them as being in Eastern Yorkshire. There is further evidence of the “Phrisii” as being on the coast in the Eastern Yorkshire area well before the Angles/Saxons Mass Migration of 449/450AD as documented by Gildas, Bede and the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, such as: trading links; a shared jet fashion culture; shared burial practices; river names such as the Humber; inheritance rights; use of Frisian words; pronouncing of town names.
This would mean that we would expect the “Brigantes” tribe to be living in the whole of the northern England area during the Iron Age. During the Roman period, the “Phrisii” would be living on the Eastern Yorkshire coast with the “Brigantes” tribe and Roman army veterans living inland on the Wolds and Moors. Later, after the mass migrations of 449/450AD, the area would also be populated by Angles and their allies right up to the Viking period.
Ian Earnshaw.
October – Bread ovens and campaign medals
SWAAG member, Richard Hunt, spoke about his research into historic bread ovens in Swaledale. He began by explaining that there were three main types – communal ones that served a village or hamlet, internal beehive-shaped bread ovens and external bakehouses.
To date he has discovered that nineteen houses between Grinton and Keld had or still have bread ovens. They are usually on north-facing walls and a number were built understairs. Sometimes a few curved footing stones on the outside of a building are the only clue to a bricked up or demolished bread oven. Bakehouses are trickier to discover as their more substantial dimensions meant that some were subsequently converted into small dwelling houses. The manorial records sometimes refer to bakehouses, allowing Richard to identify thirty-five locations where these might previously have existed.
Finding them on the ground is trickier. There may have been communal bread ovens in Swaledale, which might explain why some villages seem to have comparatively few houses with bread ovens, but caution is required as the sample size is small. There is some evidence that communal bread ovens existed nearby in Bowes, where there is a record of two villagers having been prosecuted for using their own bread ovens. Manor bakehouses may have had a monopoly in the same way as manor corn mills. As most of Richard’s discoveries have been by word-of-mouth, he would be very interested to hear from you, if you too have a bread oven!
One of Richard’s other interests is pre-20th century campaign medals. Medals were awarded following major wars, with additional bars added for specific battles. The first were awarded by the East Indian Company following the 4th Anglo Mysore War (1798-99), which saw the defeat and death of Tipu Sultan, ‘The Tiger’, ruler of Mysore. The medals, which were made of either gold, silver, bronze or tin, showed the British lion defeating the tiger on one face. Monetary awards were also given, varying from £10,000 down to £7.
The British Government only began issuing campaign medals much later, when they issued them retrospectively to the participants in the Napoleonic wars. Campaign medals show the name of the soldier together with their regiment, giving a small insight into their time in battle. Richard looked at several of the campaigns in more detail and briefly considered their impact, together with the controversies they caused.
J.H.
September – Dr Arthur Raistrick: polymath
Although most members were aware of Dr Arthur Raistrick’s books on the mines and smelting mills of Wensleydale and Swaledale, few of us knew what a prolific writer he was until we heard Dr Richard Smith’s talk. Richard is editor of the Northern Mine Research Society’s journal and co-author of four books on tin analysis, bulk sampling and lead mining in the West Pennines and Cornwall. He has published over 40 research papers on a variety of topics. He is particularly interested in medieval smelting and took part in the SWAAG/NMRS excavation of a lead smelting site, at Fremington, in 2013. His talk examined Raistrick’s contribution to mining history.
Raistrick could be described as a polymath – he was a geologist, palynologist, archaeologist, academic and writer. Born in 1896, he graduated in civil engineering and later obtained a doctorate in geology. His pacifist views led to his imprisonment as a conscientious objector in the First World War. He became a Quaker and during the Second World War kept his earnings below the income tax threshold to avoid any contribution to the war effort. His employment prospects and academic career suffered.
Raistrick was a pioneer of industrial archaeology, making a significant contribution to the understanding of the development of lead mining in the Pennines. He was particularly interested in the role of the London Lead Company, based in Middleton-in Teesdale, which was sometimes known as ‘The Quaker Company’ because of its origins. The company took a wide interest their employees’ welfare, building houses, schools and libraries. In return they expected temperance and a high moral standard from their workers. Raistrick wrote several papers and books on the company’s contribution to industrial welfare.
During his lifetime, until his death in 1991, Raistrick wrote over 300 books and research papers. He also played important role in preserving mining archives for future generations. Many of his work are still relevant to study of mining history today and his accuracy has only occasionally been challenged.
J. H.
July – In the footsteps of nuns
Sandy Carter, who is the Development Officer at Marrick Priory, was our speaker in July. The priory is an outdoor education and residential centre, but its history goes back to the 12th century when it was founded as a Benedictine nunnery.
Unlike Ellerton Priory just to the south, it escaped destruction during the marauding raids of the Scots in the 14th century but was closed two hundred years later during Henry VIII’s dissolution of the monasteries.
The prioress, Christabel Cowper, and sixteen nuns were evicted in 1540. The leasehold and then the ownership passed to Sir John Woodall.
The church continued to be used as a place of worship down the centuries, although it was rebuilt in 1811, incorporating some of the earlier structures. It’s all that remains of the original priory, apart from some enigmatic pieces of stonework in the grounds. The last services were held there in the 1940s.
The priory was opened as an outdoor education centre in the 1970s. It offers the opportunity for young people to spend time together in a rural setting with a rich historical past. They can try a wide-range of exciting activities, such as, canoeing, archery, abseiling and high ropes and most leave with unforgettable memories of their time there.
J. H.
June – The solar eclipse of 1927
In his talk on the solar eclipse of 1927, Les Knight said many SWAAG members, when driving into Richmond from Swaledale, will have spotted the yellow AA sign commemorating the town’s position on the centre line of totality. There was great excitement prior to the event, the newspapers printed special supplements, the Ordnance Survey produced a map, and plans were laid to set up telescopes along the line of totality. Railway companies advertised excursions to places such as Richmond, Southport and Blackpool. LNER alone had 37 trains scheduled for the occasion.
Les concluded that this was probably one of the greatest mass movements in British history, with over 3 million people being transported, by various means, to the north of England. In Richmond there were lectures, dances and whist-drives to celebrate and 35,000 people went to Richmond racecourse to watch on the day. Virginia Woolf, a keen astronomer, went to Richmond too.
Sadly, from a weather point of view the 29th of June wasn’t the best of days – there was almost complete cloud cover. A plane was launched from Catterick, and a hot air balloon was blown out into the Irish Sea in its ill-fated attempt to get a better view. The best photo was obtained by the Astronomer Royal in the grounds of Giggleswick School. The headline in the Darlington and Stockton Times after the event was “The Eclipsed Eclipse”.
J.H.
June – Vikings in Newfoundland
In the second of two talks at our June meeting, Alan Mills spoke about his visit to the Norse settlement of L’Anse aux Meadows, on the island of Newfoundland, in Canada. Excavated in the 1960s, by Anne Stine Ingstad, it provides conclusive evidence that the Vikings arrived in the Americas nearly 500 years before Christopher Colombus. The site contains the remains of eight buildings and probably supported 60 to 100 people over a 20-to-30-year period. Workshops were also found together with typical Norse artefacts. The site may not have been occupied all year round.
The Norse sagas, which were written down in the 13th century, refer to exploration west of Greenland and mention the settlement of “Vinland”. Whether this was L’Anse aux Meadows is debatable. Butternuts, which don’t grow in Newfoundland, were found during the excavation and must have come from further south where perhaps grapes might also have been growing in the wild. No other confirmed Viking settlements have yet been found in elsewhere in Canada.
J.H.
May – Out of the bottle!
May’s meeting was rather different, as we got to sample some beer! Our speaker was Keith Thomas, who as well as being a SWAAG member, is chairman of BrewLab in Sunderland. Keith spoke about the bioarchaeology of historic beers. Information about past beers can be found in documents from breweries, in recipes, from newspapers and from oral traditions. Recreating beers from these sources can be difficult as archaic measurements must be deciphered and the original ingredients sourced. There have also been attempts to recreate historic brewing conditions using experimental archaeology.
Beer bottles themselves often provide the best information. In the 1980s BrewLab decided to create a beer for Christmas. They decided on a porter, a beer whose popularity had declined by the 20th century, but although they obtained a recipe from Whitbread, they were uncertain about its authenticity. By chance some sealed bottles of original Flag Porter had been found in a 19th century shipwreck off the south coast. From these they were able to analyse the contents, discovering that there was still a small amount of yeast present. A new Flag Porter (pictured below) was then brewed, and the taste was even authenticated by the elderly resident of a care home, who had enjoyed porter in his youth.
More recently BrewLab acquired three bottles of Wallachia Stout, from a ship that sank in the Clyde estuary in 1895. DNA analysis confirmed the fungi and bacteria present and yet again there were traces of yeast. Several contaminants were also found because of the lack of sterilisation and modern hygiene. Contamination was a problem for brewers in the past, an outbreak of arsenic poisoning in Liverpool and Manchester, in 1900, was suspected to have been related to contaminated beer. Fortunately, BrewLab were able to recreate a more healthy version of the Wallachia Stout.
BrewLab has recreated other beers but sadly it isn’t possible to cover all those in a few paragraphs. Keith ended with a plea to keep any beer bottles you might find – don’t empty the contents down the drain. If they’re already unsealed – don’t wash them out – valuable DNA information can still be obtained!
J.H.
April – The Point of Oxan
SWAAG member Sheila Ickringill gave us a fascinating talk about the Point of Oxan, on Graemsay, in the Orkney Islands. Orkney’s many islands have provided natural harbours for shipping down the centuries. Fur trade convoys on their way back from Hudson Bay stopped there in the 17th century and in 19th century Orkney was the focus of a boom in the herring industry.
As in other narrows, the currents off Graemsay would have been treacherous and the passages unmarked. In 1786 an Act of Parliament set up the Northern Lighthouse Board. This oversaw the construction and operation of the first four modern style Scottish lighthouses. The Hoy Sound Low and the Hoy Sound High lighthouses, on the Point of Oxan, were built by Alan Stevenson, son of engineer Robert Stevenson, in 1851. Accommodation was provided for the lighthouse keepers’, together with workshops, stables, and byres. Stevenson used a distinctive Egyptian design.
The lighthouses with their different heights acted as leading lights but this still didn’t prevent disasters. In 1866 the Albion was wrecked off the shore whilst taking Stafford Pottery to America. The lighthouses were automated in the 1970s.
J.H.
March – Medieval Lindisfarne
Dr David Petts, Associate Professor of Archaeology at Durham University, has been digging on Lindisfarne for many years. His talk to SWAAG members at our March meeting began by outlining the early medieval history of the island, as well as describing how its geography would have been different from today’s.
Most recent archaeological excavations, apart from those undertaken prior to building work, have occurred around outskirts of the present village. As well as finding stone buildings, walls, ditches and evidence of industrial activity, the excavations have frequently unearthed skeletons. Some were clearly secular burials, and the cemetery sites were frequently re-used, resulting in confusing juxtaposing of the skeletons. Isotopic and DNA analysis will throw more light on who these people were. A possible shrine tomb and an adjoining chest burial suggest high-status individuals were also buried on Lindisfarne. Twenty-three runic name stones have also been unearthed.
Some of the more unusual artefacts recovered include a beautiful gaming piece and a bone comb with runes inscribed. Many animal bones, fish bones and shells have also been recovered providing evidence of the diets of the early medieval population.
The discoveries – and particularly those of elaborate stone carvings – are beginning to challenge the long-held view that there was a mass exodus of the monks from Lindisfarne in the 10th century. The excavations will continue for another two summers.
J.H.
February – Botanical remains at Healaugh
Marijke Van der Veen, Emeritus Professor at Leicester University, was our speaker in February. She has published a paper on the excavations undertaken by Tim Laurie and Andrew Fleming on the house platforms at Healaugh, in Swaledale (1988-1990). As an archaeobotanist she focuses on macrofossils, such as seeds, grains, and chaff, which can be used discover more about agriculture in the past, for example, the transition to farming, crops, diet, animal fodder, and trade. Healaugh provided only 17 sediment samples, but the botanical remains still provide a valuable insight into farming and the natural environment in the late Iron Age and early to mid-Roman period. The full paper can be read here Botanical remains from Healaugh A, Swaledale, by Marijke Van der Veen.
Marijke also placed the site in its context. The Romans were responsible for introducing large numbers of new food crops to Britain. Some, such as carrots, plums, and walnuts, thrived in the climate and continued to be grown after the Romans left, whilst the cultivation of others, such as olives, grapes, and fennel, declined. The relative proportions of spelt wheat and bread wheat grown also changed over time as did their geographical distribution.
In this country fruits, vegetable, herbs, and nuts survive best in waterlogged conditions, whilst cereals and pulses survive best when charred. Waterlogged conditions occur mostly on military and urban archaeological sites, which is also where more remains of the newer crops are found. There are fewer excavated rural sites, and this applies particularly in the north where military sites tend to predominate in the middle to late Roman period. The site at Healaugh provides another small piece in the overall picture.
J.H.
January – Changing environment and Roman artefacts
For our first meeting of 2024, Doctor Gillian Taylor, Associate Professor at Teesside University, explained how a changing environment is impacting on the artefacts recovered at Vindolanda and Magna Roman forts. There is increasing concern that changes in climate are affecting the preservation of the unique artefacts as the chemistry of their burial sites alters.
Some materials, such as metal and ceramics, are relatively resistant to change but the wooden tablets, which give such an insight into Roman life on Hadrian’s Wall, are more susceptible. The writing can fade and the wood crumble. Thousands of leather shoes have been discovered at Vindolanda but, as summers become drier, the anaerobic environments that currently preserve these ancient leather artefacts will vanish. Textiles are even more fragile and worryingly none have been recovered in any excavations since 2019.
Scientists and archaeologists are working together to monitor and track changes. Weather stations have been set up at Vindolanda and Magna. Sensors below ground now continuously record changes in soil chemistry e.g. pH values, conductivity, moisture content, and microbe activity. A picture of past climatic and soil conditions is also being established through core sampling and radio carbon dating. This was a very thought-provoking talk as these are issues that will be facing archaeologists across country.
J.H.
