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Archaeologists excited by mysterious stone find
ARCHAEOLOGISTS have uncovered a rare mysterious carved stone on the Abbey Headland which may be up to 4,000 years old and could give vital clues to the town's eventful history.
A six-week dig by English Heritage is currently taking place on the Headland, one of the country’s most important historical sites, next to Abbey Farm.
It is thought the stone, which measures 16 by 20 inches, could date back to the Bronze Age which lasted from 2000BC to 700BC.
Displaying linear carved markings, the stone was found in one of four trenches dug just to the east of Whitby Abbey by archaeologists Tom Jamieson (44) and Jessica Tibber (26).
Senior archaeologist Sarah Jennings, English Heritage’s project director for the excavation, said the carved stone could open a window on a much earlier period in Whitby’s past.
“It’s potentially a very significant find as we have hardly any material from this period in the Headland’s past,” she said.
“But we need to wait for detailed analysis before we draw firm conclusions.
“If it is Bronze Age, then it underlines the headland has a long history of settlement, well before St Hilda founded the Abbey in 657AD.
“They have done a fantastic job finding it. It’s all too easy to pick up another large stone out of the mud and not really look at it.”
Little is known about the Anglo Saxon period during which Whitby Abbey was founded by St Hilda in 657AD until archaeologists carried out cliff top excavations in 2001 and 2002.
Along with signs of large-scale industrial activity dating to the Anglian period (7th to 9th Century AD) they uncovered the first ever evidence of an Iron Age domestic dwelling on the site which dates back to the period 500BC to 100AD.
Now the 12-strong team have been battling wind and rain to try and shed more light on this Iron Age legacy which culminates 14 years of exploration.
The stone appears to share similarities with Bronze Age carved stones found on the North York Moors that date to between 700BC and 2000BC and experts are now studying the design to glean more clues about its age and potential significance.
The purpose of such carvings has long been a source of conjecture, but they may have denoted tribal boundaries or have had a ritual significance.
The famous carved stone found on Fylingdales Moor in 2003, which is much more ornate, has been likened to grave passage art found in Ireland.
Another stone was also uncovered by the pair, possibly from medieval times.
A defensive Iron Age enclosure complete with a palisade, which would have comprised a wooden fence fronted by a deep ditch designed to repel attackers has also been uncovered during the dig, along with further signs of later industrial activity during the Anglian period that may date to the foundation of the first Abbey.
During the 2002 dig, iron slag and indications of glass and lead-making were found nearby, so the latest discovery points to industrial activity on an even more sizeable scale.
Mrs Jennings added: “Perhaps we also need to start to think of the site as an Anglo Saxon industrial estate.
“Very little domestic pottery and few artefacts have been found, which is what we would expect.
“Iron and glass-making required large fires and sparks would soon have set houses ablaze, so it looks as if they were kept well apart.”
The Headland’s cliff top is eroding every year and much of the area being investigated could disappear within two decades.
English Heritage say they are attempting to recover as much historic information as possible before nature takes its course, to ensure clues about the past are not lost for ever.
The dig is expected to be completed by 24 October by which time the trenches will be covered with a layer of membrane should anyone wish to investigate them again and they will then be backfilled as if they were never there.
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Weather for Whitby
Thursday 24 May 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 9 C to 18 C
Wind Speed: 9 mph
Wind direction: North
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Temperature: 11 C to 17 C
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