There have been several archeological digs at Bamburgh. During one of them, a burial ground from the 7th and 8th centuries was found in an area called the Bowl Hole (below). You can see the castle in the distance.
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| Image from https://bamburghresearchproject.wordpress.com/2013/03/29/bamburgh-ghosts-tales-from-the-eighteenth-century-tragedy-at-the-bowl-hole/ |
Surprisingly, over 100 skeletons were found which gave the researchers lots of information. Because the people buried were well above average in height and they had extensive dental decay, we know that they ate rich foods and must have been from the royal household. Only a few were born in Bamburgh, most came to Bamburgh from other parts of Britain and some even came from the Mediterranean.
Bamburghbones.org is a Digital Crypt, with each skeleton
identified. Beo was an 11 or 12 year old boy from Britain and had a sports
injury to his elbow like many others – probably due to sword practice. Bord was
8 or 9 years old, born in France, with a mother from the Mediterranean. He
lived for a time near Iona, where the monastery that St. Aidan came from is.
Oferbraedan was a middle aged man from the Iona area who died between 574 and
660 – perhaps he was one of the monks who came to Northumbria with St. Aidan. Cwalu
was a 60 year old man from Norway or Sweden who was buried between 559 and 677,
likely drawn to Bamburgh by the artistic and intellectual reputation of
Bamburgh’s Golden Age. Check out the many more people buried here – from the
people who worked in the castle to the royals who lived there. https://bamburghbones.org/ossuary/digital-ossuary/#filters
The bones are now kept in the Crypt under St. Aidan Church which is built in the same spot as the wooden church Aidan built in 635. Some of these people may have listened to Aidan lead the church services in the same spot they now rest in their ossuary boxes (below).
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| Image from https://bamburghbones.org/ossuary/digital-ossuary/ |
Go to https://www.bamburghcastle.com/ to find out many other interesting
bits of history, including the fact that in the 1700’s Bamburgh had the first coastguard
station in the world, and launched the first lifeboat.
To continue Aidan’s story, David Adam writes:
“Oswald wanted to know about their journey. He asked for news about Iona and Abbot Segene. He mentioned other names, only some of which were familiar. Soon they were offered a place to rest and a meal to refresh them. This king was in no way barbaric, although he was obviously a mighty warrior. All around were battle-shields and spears, great swords and bows. There were animal skins on the floor and a great fire burning. The meal was more than they would normally eat but today was special. For a while Aidan felt nervous, but he realized Oswald was personally determined to make them feel at home.
Soon they were
talking over a campaign of teaching. Oswald was anxious that his closest
subjects should be educated. If the kingdom was to grow it had to be built on
more than a foundation of conquest. A school was of the utmost importance. He
knew they would need a church. He understood that they would want to deal with
the British also. In all this he was willing to give them whatever resources
they needed. He kept emphasizing the importance of getting started. Never once
did he mention Corman. Oswald insisted that the brothers remained in the most
comfortable part of his palace and that they allowed themselves to be looked
after by his servants. Aidan was about to object, then realized that this could
be a good way of making contact with these Angles and beginning to learn how to
communicate with them.
There was certainly some interest shown when they said their prayers at night and again in the early morning. The monks did not make a show of their devotions, but they made sure that their hosts knew what they were doing.
Over the next few days Oswald proved that he was true to his word. His generosity knew no bounds. If Aidan or his men needed anything Oswald supplied it. In fact they had to be careful in stating their needs, for Oswald seemed to be able to produce most things almost immediately. He made sure they had space for their worship, giving them a room to be set aside as sacred for the purpose. He offered them the full use of the palace. More than this, he gave them much of his time. He was also ready to worship with them. Sometimes they would find he had been the first to enter their little sanctuary and was sitting with his hands open and upturned and resting on his knees, his eyes closed, and praying. They were to discover that this was the posture that Oswald most often took up for his prayers.
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| Image: Derek Voller, https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/3065720, no changes |
(The above photo is of The King's Hall in Bamburgh Castle. Built in the early 7th century and restored in the 18th and 19th centuries, the hall is surrounded by smaller rooms used for living in and for workshops, and was in use while St. Aidan lived there. One of the rooms off of the Hall would very likely have been used by the monks for their prayers.)
In the early days Oswald himself acted as an interpreter for
them when he was able. When other duties prevented him, he delegated the task
to one of the thanes who had been with him in Dalraida. Aidan was thrilled to
discover that a few of the leading men at the palace could speak his language
and were willing to help him learn their native tongue.
Oswald would have liked the school to have been in Bamburgh. He waved his arms and said, “You can have any land you like to build your monastery on.” At this Aidan was silent, and could not answer. He knew that if he was in the shadow of the royal residence, many of the British would find this offensive, or would be afraid to come. Another difficulty was all the activity that was going on around the palace. It was far too busy a place for them to establish themselves. Aidan said he would talk it over with his brothers. He knew that they would have to decide quickly, or Oswald might think that they did not appreciate his offer. Not one of them wanted the protection of the palace. They realized that it would not be good either for their mission or their development. They needed to distance themselves a little from the king.
When Oswald was told this, he frowned a little but was his usual generous self. They could have anywhere in his kingdom. They could go to one of the great towns, they could have some of the wonderful rolling hill country, they could have a settlement by one of the rivers. The kingdom was large and it was at their disposal.
What Aidan did next Oswald found hard to understand. He looked out to sea and pointed to some islands not far from the fortress (Farne Islands, below). “How large are those?” Some of his companions, missing their island home, thrilled to the question.
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| Image: Andrew Locking, https://www.andrewswalks.co.uk/budle-bay.htm, no changes. |
“Not large enough nor
productive enough for you to do your work on them,” came a rather blunt reply.
“What, none of
them?” Aidan asked in disappointment
“Well there is one, if you can call it an island,” said Oswald as he turned northwards and pointed. “It is the farthest one away from here. It is larger than the rest. It has its own water supply, which the others do not have. There is much hazel growing there that could be used in building. But it is not a proper island.” (Below, looking from Bamburgh Castle to Lindisfarne Island in the distance)
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| Image: Andrew Locking, https://www.andrewswalks.co.uk/bamburgh-castle.html, no changes |
Those listening
to Oswald wondered how an island could not be an island. Seeing their look of
puzzlement, he explained. “The land is not so far from the shore as the other
islands. In fact when the tide recedes it is not an island but part of the
mainland. Each day it is cut off by the tides, and each day it becomes open
again. You can cross to the mainland when the tide is out, on horseback or on
foot. But when the tide is high you can only get off the island by boat, and
there are some very strange sea currents that run about the island.”
“What is its name?” asked Aidan.
“I believe it is called Inis Metcaud” replied Oswald, “and I have been told it means the ‘Island of the strong winds’.
“It sounds as if we may have found our new home,” replied Aidan. Then to Oswald, “If you do not mind, it seems it could be just the sort of place we are looking for. It is not far from your royal dwelling and yet it will give us the silence and the separation we feel we need.”
Oswald still seemed doubtful, but thinking that maybe these island monks would be more at home with the sea around them, he agreed, and said, “The island is yours.”
Aidan turned to
his monks: “It appears we are on the road again. We will move off in the
morning.”
This extract is taken from 'Flame of the Heart' by David Adam, pgs. 38-40, and is reproduced by kind permission of SPCK in one of our old blog posts. You can read the book or order the book from our library here:
https://www.librarycat.org/lib/saintaidan/item/198357119
Next week we walk from Bamburgh Castle to the Holy Island of Lindisfarne, and read more of David Adam's book from our old blog posts.
[bamburghcastle.com, bamburghbones.org, viatravelers.com/bamburgh-castle]
