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Early historic period - the Celts c.1600 – 950 years ago Regarded by some as the black hole of British history, the period between Roman abandonment and Norman elite invasion is surely the most fascinating of all. It is this period that saw the emergence of the national identities of England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland, and the explosion of Christianity as a religion that gave powerful expression, cohesion and purpose to those early nations. It also saw the creation of Cumbria, or, as it was then known – Rheged; as a distinctive, (if decidedly short-lived) kingdom in its own right. No other single period is so redolent with vital questions that we can ask of the past, so brilliant in the increasingly detailed, (yet surprisingly frustrating) responses to those queries from archaeology; and so rich with clues as to the truth of the history of these islands. Here in Low Furness we may have one of the most significant sites to be recently identified from this period – that centred on the church at Great Urswick. The same archaeological investigations that produced the first finds of Roman masonry in 2002 also produced evidence for an extremely early, (sub-Roman) Christian community and a monastic church. Surviving through a combination of good fortune and the care of its community over many generations, the Church of SS Mary and Michael at Great Urswick contains both stone sculpture and building evidence from this period, with, in addition, a range of well-preserved landscape archaeological evidence to support the monastic theory. The full story is far too complex to reveal here; and we can only recommend that you visit the church to find out more! In 2004 a major exhibition will be unveiled in the church that features the potential of this important site. * Click
here to download a summary of all the history
of Low Furness |
