Meeting Notes January

Meeting Notes January 

This months meeting was well attended, again we had a lively discussion on lots of topics and an hour and a half passed very quickly.

We had a look at several maps, one of them was 'The Europe That Was' a Map by William E. McNulty and Jerome N. Cookson, National Geographic Magazine. Peter had mentioned the land bridge that linked our shores with Denmark the Netherlands and Norway in his article on Almouth Village. The map clearly  shows the land mass in various stages from 16,000 B.C. to 7000 B.C. and the article about doggerland can be found on the link below.

Full version: http://www.nationalgeographic.org/maps/doggerland/

 It is interesting to note at this point that BCE, CE, are now popular when talking about eras, BC, AD seemed to have declined perhaps due to their singular religious association, Before Christ and AD Anno Domini);  which means “in the year of the lord,”

An interesting article on the subject can be found here.

Difference-bce-ce-bc-ad

We looked at 4 more maps over a period from CE 306 to CE 600 showing the ancient tribes, the Roman occupation and the settlements of Angles, Saxons and Jutes in Britain.

CE 306-400

CE 400

CE 450

CE 600

The full range of maps and a very informative dialogue  can be found on the following link:

Historyfiles.co.uk

Digging Deeper 

The origins of Newcastle and Gateshead

David Heslop and Zoe McAuley 

This is a bargain read and very informative originaly priced at £8.50 you can get it for £4 at Newcastle City Library, slightly cheaper than some History magazines that have half the content. John Grundy writes the forward and I was surprised there was not a photograph of him standing next to an excavation. If you read John's latest book 'John Grundy's History of Newcastle' he has his photo  almost on every page, more of that next month.

I would recommend this book as it deals with Newcastle's History through the archaeological digs of recent years and it is not dry or dusty. The format like most Newcastle and Gateshead History books starts with the earliest times, although there is no direct evidence of Neolithic settlements in Tyne and Wear there are indications of causewayed enclosures found while building the Sage at Gateshead. Further clues to settlements before Roman occupation are illustrated with photographs of finds and some good illustrations.

There is a large section on the Roman occupation covering the everyday life and death in those ancient times, the coffins discovered at Clavering Place in 2009 show the skeletal outline of the coffin's occupant, this is real history being revealed and not the ruminations of historians such as Eneas MacKenzie who had to struggle with word of mouth and written accounts passed down.

The retreat of the Romans and rise of the Warbands is covered again with solid evidence from recent digs and yes more graves are uncovered in the 1990 excavations at Castle Garth showing Saxon remains.

Norman Tyneside, 'a new and brutal regime' describes the Norman Occupation, the old castle around 1080 occupying the cemetery of the earlier Christians. It is said that 'the workers who put in the massive foundations for the Keep must have been constantly digging though human skeletons'

The last section covers the Medieval Town, its walls and its trade, Medieval Bottle Bank and the streets of Gallowgate showing excavations which took place in 2003 beneath Gallowgate bus Station.

A very interesting account of Newcastle and Gateshead through modern archaeology excavations.

Derek Trueman

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In Memoriam

It is with is with sadden hearts we heard of Maureen's husband Gordon who had passed away. Our thoughts are with them:

“I hold it true, whate'er befall;
I feel it when I sorrow most;
'Tis better to have loved and lost
Than never to have loved at all.”
― Alfred Tennyson, In Memoriam

 

Next Meeting

Our next meeting will be held on March 1 at 10:30am  in the upstairs cafe of the Hancock Musuem be sure to wear a leek in your lapel for St Davids Day.