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Digital Dig Team: Coldingham Priory
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Beyond Bede: Coldingham Priory

Welcome! Join the search for the lost monastery of Saint Æbbe.

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Dig Timeline

Catch up on all the action from site, as it happens

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Jun 30 2018 - 9:00 PM

Trench 9 is complete, and it looks fab! You can see some stone drains, but also what looks like the foundations of a huge stone wall.

Mar 8 2019 - 10:27 AM

Radiocarbon dates from Coldingham are back from the lab, and they’re 100% Anglo-Saxon!

This week, we got our first set of radiocarbon dates back from the lab, and the results couldn’t be more positive. Analysis shows that the material we sent for dating is from AD 660-860!…

Jul 1 2018 - 5:00 PM

Day 13 - Coldingham 2018

Day 13 Photo Album

Jul 1 2018 - 12:00 PM

Trench 9 complete with a day in hand #BeyondBede @TheDigVenturers Now a mad dash on today to get the other three to this point… https://t.co/OrfcoFdXss

— Chris Casswell (@CasswellArch) July 1, 2018

Jul 1 2018 - 7:00 PM


It’s the last day of the dig, but the archaeology isn’t over yet. As well as discoveries in the field, there are discoveries waiting to happen in the lab!

20th June - 1st July 2018

We're digging!

Our excavation begins at Coldingham on the 20th of June. We'll be digging for two whole weeks to try to locate any evidence for Saint Æbbe's lost monastery.

March 2018

We asked our followers where we should dig

In March 2018, we did something that we don't think archaeologists have done before. We asked our followers where we should dig at Coldingham. The results are in! Check out the 'How We Decided Where To Dig' page in the background section to find out more.

September 2017

Coldingham's Dirty Weekend

In September 2017, the DigVentures crew headed up to Bonnie Scotland to prepare for the Coldingham Project with a test-pitting weekend. We dug six test pits to help us determine where our best chances of finding archaeology associated with Æbbe's monastery would be.

Mar 8 2019 - 10:27 AM

Radiocarbon dates from Coldingham are back from the lab, and they’re 100% Anglo-Saxon!

This week, we got our first set of radiocarbon dates back from the lab, and the results couldn’t be more positive. Analysis shows that the material we sent for dating is from AD 660-860!…

Jul 1 2018 - 9:00 PM

It’s The End Of The Dig, And We Think We’ve Found Aebbe’s Vallum!

Born a pagan princess in Northumbria, exiled as a child, and raised by the Christian kings of Dal Riada, Aebbe’s story is a fascinating one. But after two weeks digging in search of the…

Jun 30 2018 - 9:00 PM

Watch The DVIP Coldingham Lectures Online

Alongside the dig, we ran a series of lectures about Princess Aebbe given by some of our FAVOURITE archaeologists and historians. And now they’re all available online for you to watch at home… From…

Jun 30 2018 - 9:00 PM

Trench 9 is complete, and it looks fab! You can see some stone drains, but also what looks like the foundations of a huge stone wall.

Jun 28 2018 - 9:00 PM

We’ve been busy in Trench 8, and are part way through the excavation. There’s more digging to do, but you can see the thick, dark deposit that’s chock full of animal bone.

Jun 27 2018 - 12:00 PM

Are they walls or drains? Explore Trench 9 in 3D and see what you think!

Jul 1 2018 - 5:00 PM

Day 13 - Coldingham 2018

Day 13 Photo Album

Jun 29 2018 - 5:00 PM

Day 11 - Coldingham 2018

Day 11 Photo Album

Jun 28 2018 - 5:00 PM

Day 10 - Coldingham 2018

Day 10 Photo Album

Jul 1 2018 - 12:00 PM

Trench 9 complete with a day in hand #BeyondBede @TheDigVenturers Now a mad dash on today to get the other three to this point… https://t.co/OrfcoFdXss

— Chris Casswell (@CasswellArch) July 1, 2018

Jul 1 2018 - 10:00 AM

Literally diving into the last day of archaeology with @TheDigVenturers there’s quite a nice plunge pool in this ditch now #beyondbede #ScottishBorders #coldingham pic.twitter.com/X7HQ1cRL8Q

— Harriet (@harriettatton) July 1, 2018

Jun 29 2018 - 4:00 PM

So lots of people get excited when archaeologists find artefacts, but archaeologists get excited when we find walls… LIKE THIS ONE#BeyondBede pic.twitter.com/W7dcCqNN7h

— DigVentures (@TheDigVenturers) June 29, 2018

Jul 1 2018 - 7:00 PM


It’s the last day of the dig, but the archaeology isn’t over yet. As well as discoveries in the field, there are discoveries waiting to happen in the lab!

Jun 29 2018 - 7:00 PM

With only three days left to go here at Coldingham, will we find Aebbe’s elusive monastery?

Jun 28 2018 - 9:00 PM


Dr Hilary Powell from Durham University joins us to discuss the life, legend and landscape of Princess Aebbe, and her status as a saint in the 12th century.

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Coldingham Priory
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