Æbbe’s monastery has been lost since Viking’s attacked in 870, but this year, we’re hoping to find it.

The original abbey founded by Æbba was long thought to have been at Kirk Hill, St Abb’s Head. The Latin and Anglo-Saxon names give us a clue about the location of the monastery, as they refer to some kind of fortification, however there have been several archaeological excavations over the years at known fortified sites in the area, and haven’t shown much, if any, evidence of a monastery.

Determined to find it, archaeologists went back to the drawing board, and geophysical surveys close to the current church in Coldingham have shown some features that look very promising indeed.

In September 2017 DigVentures undertook a test pitting excavation over the course of a weekend. The test pits gave a tantalising glimpse of what might be the monastery that has eluded archaeologists for decades, but to be sure, we need to undertake a much larger excavation.

That excavation will be taking place from 19th June – 1st July 2018, we’ll be excavating in several different areas to try to find any evidence of Æbbe’s original monastery.