Lindisfarne went through three ages: 1) An Iona of the East (635-664 AD) when it was founded by Oswald and Aidan and influenced by the Irish church 2) From Cuthbert to the Vikings (664-793 AD) when the cult of Cuthbert emerged until the monastery was attacked by Vikings 3) From the 9th century to the 12th century when the monks moved away after Viking attacks but the community of St. Cuthbert endured and remained powerful in northern England, eventually settling in Durham in 995 AD.

1. The Three Ages of Lindisfarne
Dr David Petts
Department of Archaeology
DURHAM UNIVERSITY

2. Lindisfarne
Gospels
Early 8th century AD
Not a product of
Northern England but
of Central Britain
© British Library

3. Reconstructing the Island

4. Armstrong’s Map of Northumberland,
1769

5. Map of Holy
Island Village
1643

6. Three Ages of Lindisfarne
Part 1: An Iona of the East (AD635-664)
Founded by Oswald
and Aidan in AD635
- Along with
Hartlepool
- Importance of
the influence of
the Irish church
View of Iona Abbey from Tor an Aba
(Argyll)

7. Practical challenges with the archaeology of
the earliest phases of Lindisfarne
Practical challenges in dating – C14
has a wide range – difficult to home
in on a 30 year period
Lack of good diagnostic objects –
beyond the reach of North Sea and
Atlantic trade routes bringing in
pottery and glass
Lack of comparative sculpture?
Sheer scale of the sites
Early medieval glass beakers,
Whithorn (D&G)

8. Three Ages of Lindisfarne:
Part 2: Cuthbert to the Vikings
Synod of Whitby AD664
Religious (and cultural?)
re-alignment from the
north and west to the
south and beyond
Emergence of the Cult of
Cuthbert (a safe pair of
hands before and beyond
the grave)

10. © The Archaeological Practice
HLF Peregrini

11. © The Archaeological Practice
HLF Peregrini

12. Chapel of the Lights
© The Archaeological Practice
HLF Peregrini

14. Cemeteries
Multiple cemeteries
Again for different
communities
- Secular
- Ecclesiastical
Different burial traditions on
same site: quartz pebbles,
stone-lined graves

15. Cemetery: burial markers

18. Early medieval structure- walls supported on post-pads
Remains of an oven or kiln inside it

19. Coin of Aethelred II
c. 840 -c. 848 or c.858 – 862 AD

20. AD793
The church of St Cuthbert is spattered with the blood
of the priests of God, stripped of all its furnishing,
exposed to the plundering of pagans.

21. Three ages of Lindisfarne
Part 3: Ninth century to Twelfth century
Monks move away from Lindisfarne and
first to Norham, then Crayke, then
Chester-le-Street, then Durham in AD995
This is the “Durham” story
Cross-shaft,
Chester-le-Street
© CASSS

22. Reconstructing a new history
Important new work
underway reassessing the
history of the Community of
St Cuthbert drawing on
different range of
contemporary sources
Secgan be þam Godes
sanctum, þe on Engla
lande ærost reston
Stowe version, 1013 x
1033
• 3. Ðonne resteð
sanctus Cuthbertus on
þare stowe seo is
genemned Ubbanford
neh þære éá, þe is
genemned Twiode

23. Rethinking the archaeology

24. East end of St Mary’s © Peter Ryder
Unpicking the
church…
How many early
phases?

25. Full circle: Back to the Island

26. Future questions
Chronology: can we
unpick the murky 10th
century?
Sculpture: can we
date it ?
Beyond the monastic
precinct: the castle,
the island and
beyond?

27. The overall message….
Lindisfarne endures – the community of St Cuthbert outlives
the Vikings.
Five hundred years after Eric Bloodaxe dies on Stainmoor Pass,
the Community of St Cuthbert remains one of the most powerful
bodies in the North of England

28. Acknowledgements
Crossman Estate, the Diocese of Newcastle and Mr Patterson, the tenant
farmer
English Heritage
Peregrini HLF project – The Archaeological Practice
Department of Archaeology, Durham University