Many years ago I spent a morning working on an archeological dig. It wasn’t my thing. But I’ve grown up since then. Last week had a brief visit to the dig at Maryport where right next to Holme Cultram. some wonderful artefacts are being dug up.
The activities of the Cistercian monks five hundred years ago are now being revealed. In the area which must have been the refectory a chess piece has been found (monks were human after all) Coins, stained glass, ceramics, decorated tiles and human bones have also been found in the area.
It is likely that the settlement which had grown up around the abbey was disbanded in 1538 during the dissolution of the monasteries by Henry V, though the site dates back to 1150.
Carol, in search of the old.