A film launched today by the AHRC features research on Glastonbury Abbey led by Professor Roberta Gilchrist of the University of Reading and funded by the AHRC. The research has re-evaluated the archaeology of Glastonbury Abbey and disentangled the rich but not always accurate myth from historical reality. Among the findings are: fresh evidence to confirm that the abbey site was indeed occupied in the 5th or 6th century, before the foundation of the Saxon monastery; identification of an early timber building with large post pits associated with fragments of imported Roman amphorae, dated c AD 450-550, and often associated with very high status secular (ie royal) settlement; analysis of glass and metal fragments suggesting that the glass-working furnaces at Glastonbury represent the earliest evidence for significant glass production in Saxon England; and a great deal more.
The project has worked closely with local groups and the general public and outreach activities have been crucial to its work and its findings.
This film examines the new evidence unearthed by the project and how researchers have worked with the Abbey Museum, conservators and the public to explore the history of this rich and extraordinary site. To watch the film please click here.