BSG Meeting 6.00pm 15 October 2026, Room 1, Irish Centre, Gallowgate, Newcastle.
We welcomed three potential new members and discussed several items of interest from the summer, particularly the digging of three small trenches at Hangingleaves Wood, near Morpeth.
Hangingleaves Wood
Soil samples were taken from the bottom of a boundary ditch for laboratory analysis by OSL (Optically Stimulated Luminescence), courtesy of Professor Sam Taylor of Newcastle University and Dr Tim Kinnaird of St Andrews University. Radio-carbon dating works with organic materials such as wood but OSL works with minerals, particularly silicon, to identify how long ago the mineral grains were last exposed to light. We may be able to determine in which century the ditch boundary was first established. This will have significance for a major Early Medieval boundary identify on maps by the group over the last few years.
Meetings Autumn 2026
29 October
1 – Diana presents Aelfric’s Colloquy, a 10th century English primer about occupations (e.g. ploughman, shepherd, hunter, etc)
2 – Colm presents the 10th century Historia de Sancto Cuthberto, Chapter 4.
5 November
1 – Hilary presents progress on investigations of Dere Street.
2a – John presents the earliest known poem from the British Isles (Amergin of Ireland, perhaps before ca 500 AD).
2b – Jill presents the earliest poem by a writer whose name is known (Enheduana of UR, ca 2,300 BC).
26 November
Two updates on recent excavations of early monastic sites.
1 – Sue at Downpatrick, Ireland.
2 – Colm at Lismore, Scotland.
10 December Sue hosts a social evening at her house in Newcastle.
Rannoch