Uncovering an Anglo-Saxon Monastery in Kent

Anglo-Saxon monasticism in Kent: a neglected area of research?

It is impossible to overstate the importance of Anglo-Saxon ecclesiastical heritage to Kentish identity both at home and abroad. The World Heritage site of St Augustine’s Abbey, Canterbury, stands as an icon to the flagship role played by the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Kent in the familiar textbook narrative of the conversion of the Anglo-Saxon peoples. The shells of other early church structures excavated within and without the monastic city of Canterbury provide tangible witness to the strong continental (both Roman and Frankish) inspiration behind the architecture of the early mission. And then there is the rich corpus of Anglo-Saxon charters preserved in the archives of Christ Church and St Augustine’s, Canterbury, shedding light on how the early church was equipped to meet the challenge of embedding the new religion within Kentish society.

Given this enviable battery of evidence, it is surprising that until recently none of the monastic institutions involved with spearheading the conversion of Kent has received systematic archaeological attention. The time is now ripe to break with the legacy of the antiquarian past when the architecture of church structures dominated study. The focus needs to be widened to take in the totality of pre-Viking monastic sites as extensive topographic complexes embodying economic as well as religious roles, remembering that the identity of these institutions in large part stemmed from their function as royally-sponsored estate centres.

Moving forward: Lyminge as a case study

This is the goal of a research project, initiated by the author back in 2007 and now run under the banner of the University of Reading, targeting the case-study of Lyminge. The place-name combined with the richly furnished cemetery located beyond the northern fringes of the village show that Lyminge was already a centre of Anglo-Saxon power – a royal vill and lathe centre - before the establishment of the monastery at some point in the 7th century. Less secure is the traditionally-ascribed foundation date of AD 633 linked with the royal abbess Æthelburh (widow of King Edwin of Northumbria and daughter of Æthelberht I of Kent). The pervasiveness of this association is in no small part due to the legacy of Canon Jenkins, the Victorian incumbent of the parish church whose excavations in the graveyard were responsible for uncovering the masonry foundations of a 7th-century church, perhaps alongside one or more contemporary stone structures. But, derided as it is exclusively from post-Conquest hagiography – the Life of St Mildreth – we can hardly treat this version of events as fact. Indeed, as recently argued by the historian Susan Kelly, the religious focus may have started life as a royal burial chapel only to be refounded as a double monastery in the later 7th century by a less illustrious abbess named Eadburga.

A new chapter of research

Leaving aside questions of historical identity, the first glimpse that Lyminge harboured hard evidence for wider monastic activity came to light in 2006 when, occasioned by an application from the parish to extend the cemetery into pasture to the south of the current boundary, an evaluation by a team of volunteers led by Diocesan Archaeologist, Paul Bennett, uncovered a complex of Middle Saxon (7th-9th century) pits and ditches. This discovery acted as the spur for the current project which has taken the opportunity to expand the window of investigation into adjacent land belonging to ‘The Old Rectory’.

Geophysics and test-pitting undertaken in 2007 showed that Middle Saxon occupation (predominantly indicated by clusters of pits) extends over a distance of at least 150m to the south of the monastic focus. In 2008 two trenches were opened up across this activity to obtain a more detailed picture of its character. As hoped for, this wider focus gave a much more representative impression of the archaeology including the ground-plans of timber structures.

The major structural discovery of 2008 was an imposing E-W post-built hall measuring 19m by 6.5m with a distinctive two-aisled plan. Analogous two-aisled structures excavated on the near continent have been interpreted as granaries. This possibility is strengthened by an associated metalled yard, a solid surface of crushed flint incorporating fragments of Roman tile, not unreasonably interpreted as an exterior threshing floor. Other structures included a small sunken-featured building of classic ridge-post construction and the portion of a N-S post-in-trench building or possibly palisade.

Imparting a particular personality to the Middle Saxon archaeology of Lyminge is the pits which occur in a quantity and density (70 were excavated in 2008) unusual for a rural settlement of the period. A multiplicity of primary functions should be envisaged – storage, rubbish and cess disposal - as reflected in a varied morphological range and contrasting depositional sequences. Whatever their primary usage, the digging of pits on this scale and likely over an extended period, hints that the necessities of daily life within the Lyminge community may have been more formally regulated than in a typical agricultural environment. The demarcation of activity zones evidenced either in the distribution of pits or in the use of ditched boundaries, heightens the impression that the settlement may have been formally planned from the outset.

The incidence of pits was also responsible for generating a wealth of artefactual and ecofactual evidence much of which would have been lost had domestic refuse been discarded on surface middens. The result is one of the most impressive Middle Saxon cultural assemblages found outside Canterbury and Dover. Highlights include Frankish imports of vessel glass and pottery and, as recently identified by Professor Rosemary Cramp, the first Middle Saxon window glass from Kent. Vital insights are also being gained into how the monastic community was provisioned, large quantities of fish bone and marine molluscs attesting to the importance of the Romney Marsh (if not otherwise documented in Anglo-Saxon charters).

Much work remains to be done, but the results obtained at Lyminge thus far promise to furnish a detailed picture of the physical reality behind one of the monastic institutions involved in the Christianisation of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Kent. Tangible insights will also be gained into the economic profile and social identity of the Middle Saxon monastic community as expressed in aspects of daily life including diet and dress.

Gabor Thomas

Envoi

A further season of open-area excavation is planned for July and August 2009. For further details visit the project website: www.rdg.ac.uk/archaeology/research/Projects/arch_Lyminge.asp

LEFT: Contemporary view of the foundations of the 7th-century church as exposed and displayed by Canon Jenkins in the 1870s.

RIGHT: Aerial view of the 2008 excavation looking north towards the ‘Old Rectory’ and the parish church beyond.