Dr Christina Cowart-Smith
@celticist.bsky.social
880 followers 190 following 20 posts
Early medievalist, West Highland fiddler, writer & editor based in London (UK). Occasionally posts sculpture on @ASCorpus.bsky.social. Trustee @gefrintrust.bsky.social.
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Reposted by Dr Christina Cowart-Smith
gefrintrust.bsky.social
Our Trustees met on site this morning for a tour led by Trustee Sarah Semple, a wander around Maelmin with Trustee Roger Miket, and—in the afternoon—sat down for a proper meeting. The future of #Yeavering is in good hands! Stay tuned for exciting news out of Yeavering in the months to come.
Reposted by Dr Christina Cowart-Smith
gefrintrust.bsky.social
In between the hours excavating, the @arcdurham students at #Yeavering have been enjoying some early medieval games… and donuts 🍩! (Don’t worry - the donuts aren’t 7th-century 😉)

Catch our daily site tour tomorrow at 3pm. #Yeavering #GefrinTrust #Northumberland #DUArchaeology
Reposted by Dr Christina Cowart-Smith
gefrintrust.bsky.social
It’s the #Yeavering team’s day off. 😊 What better way to spend it than to head over to Holy Island & check in on the 10th (final) year of the DU/DV dig! Dr David Petts @arcdurham talks the team through the reopened trenches. We’ve been so lucky to have both digs run concurrently for a few years!
Reposted by Dr Christina Cowart-Smith
gefrintrust.bsky.social
It’s raining cats🐱 & dogs 🐶 out there! Archaeologists are hearty folk but trenches this wet mean super slippery surfaces.

We’ve cancelled our @gefrintrust site tour for today but will be back at #Yeavering to deliver the usual 3pm tour tomorrow (Thurs, 4 September). Stay dry! ☔️ 💦

Image: @adgefrin
Reposted by Dr Christina Cowart-Smith
Reposted by Dr Christina Cowart-Smith
gefrintrust.bsky.social
Rain or shine, there’s big smiles all around from the Yeavering crew! #YeaveringExcavation #Northumbria #earlymedieval #GefrinTrust #DUArchaeology
celticist.bsky.social
I had the joy of sitting down with Prof Sarah Semple to hear about her 20-year relationship with The Gefrin Trust, her initial memories of Yeavering, and her favourite time to be on site. Follow @gefrintrust.bsky.social over the next month as the team excavates! #Yeavering #GefrinTrust
gefrintrust.bsky.social
To celebrate the start of the 2025 excavation season, we've just released the Gefrin Trust's recent conversation with Professor Sarah Semple. Read on for more! gefrintrust.org/conversation...
Reposted by Dr Christina Cowart-Smith
gefrintrust.bsky.social
Professor Sarah Semple (Durham University) and team are readying to lay out the trenches at Yeavering for another fantastic season of fieldwork. We can’t wait to see what they get up to! #Yeavering #DurhamArchaeology #GefrinTrust
Reposted by Dr Christina Cowart-Smith
gefrintrust.bsky.social
The 2025 Yeavering excavation has commenced with the relocation of the grandstand! Stay tuned for lots more from the trenches. We can't wait to see what the team gets up to! #YeaveringExcavation #Northumberland #DUArchaeology #GefrinTrust
Reposted by Dr Christina Cowart-Smith
gefrintrust.bsky.social
On Friday night #TheGefrinTrust, along with our partners #AdGefrin and @arcdurham.bsky.social, lit up the contours of Edwin's palace and grandstand. For the first time in over a millennium, the structures' footprints could be seen against the dramatic backdrop of Yeavering Bell. (Image: A. Jansen)
Reposted by Dr Christina Cowart-Smith
gefrintrust.bsky.social
We’re still buzzing from our 2025 Festival of Archaeology at Yeavering! Hear from Charlotte and Liam, two of our historical reenactors on site. #festivalofarchaeology #yeavering #adgefrin #northumbria

www.instagram.com/reel/DM7b5bN...
Reposted by Dr Christina Cowart-Smith
gefrintrust.bsky.social
We’ve had a fantastic 2025 Festival of Archaeology at Yeavering. Thank you to all those who came out to site, to learn and share. Particular thanks to our collaborators @arcdurham @adgefrin @aclereenactment. We’re already planning for next year! #FestivalofArchaeology #Yeavering #Northumbria
Reposted by Dr Christina Cowart-Smith
gefrintrust.bsky.social
We’ll be highlighting the stories of our Trustees, including Roger Miket, over the next few months. Stay tuned! #GefrinTrust #Yeavering #Northumbria
Reposted by Dr Christina Cowart-Smith
gefrintrust.bsky.social
Another well-attended tour of site. We’ve two final tours today — come out and visit us until 4pm!

#Yeavering #FestivalofArchaeology #EarlyMedievalNorthumberland
Reposted by Dr Christina Cowart-Smith
gefrintrust.bsky.social
We’ve had a fantastic first day. Join us tomorrow for Day 2 of our Festival of Archaeology at Yeavering, Northumberland. Thanks to our co-organisers Ad Gefrin, Durham Archaeology, and Acle. And most of all—thanks to all who showed up! We had a superb turnout!

#Yeavering #EarlyMedievalNorthumbria
Reposted by Dr Christina Cowart-Smith
gefrintrust.bsky.social
Meet Heather & Colin of Acle Reenactment. Heather produces all her own dyed wool & creates gorgeous textiles (like this one, inspired by the design of the Bamburgh stone throne). Colin crafts objects in silver based on Pictish & Anglo-Saxon metalwork. His work has been featured in tv shows & movies!
Reposted by Dr Christina Cowart-Smith
gefrintrust.bsky.social
Walking the outlines of Edwin’s hall. #Yeavering #EarlyMedievalNorthumbria @adgefrin
Reposted by Dr Christina Cowart-Smith
gefrintrust.bsky.social
Our first tour of the day is underway, led by Professor Sarah Semple (Durham), Gefrin Trust trustee and lead site excavator. #Yeavering #EarlyMedievalNorthumberland
Reposted by Dr Christina Cowart-Smith
gefrintrust.bsky.social
Our friends over at Ad Gefrin certainly know how to construct a hall!

See you tomorrow at the Festival of Archaeology! 👋 May your dreams be filled with bygone halls 😴

#Yeavering #AdGefrin #Northumberland
Reposted by Dr Christina Cowart-Smith
gefrintrust.bsky.social
We’re on site and preparations are in full swing. See you at 10am!

@gefrintrust @arcdurham @adgefrin

#Yeavering #FestivalofArchaeology
Reposted by Dr Christina Cowart-Smith
gefrintrust.bsky.social
The tents are up—the evocative landscapes of Northumbria call. 👟 🌳 🐟 ☀️ One more sleep until the Festival of Archaeology at Yeavering, Northumberland! Join us tomorrow from 10am-4pm. @arcdurham @gefrintrust @adgefrin

#FestivalOfArchaeology #Yeavering #AdGefrin
Reposted by Dr Christina Cowart-Smith
gefrintrust.bsky.social
Want to learn more about Brian Hope-Taylor's work at #Yeavering? In 2020, the Gefrin Trust digitally restored Episode 5 of the "Lost Centuries" series, which features Hope-Taylor talking about Ad Gefrin. www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVYb...
The Lost Centuries Episode 5 1 (Enhanced)
YouTube video by Brian Cosgrove
www.youtube.com
Reposted by Dr Christina Cowart-Smith
gefrintrust.bsky.social
Do you already want to get stuck into the archaeology at #Yeavering? Watch our very own Professor Sarah Semple (Durham) @sarahsemple.bsky.social
& Trustee Roger Miket talk about the excavation last year at the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle: www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhMe...
New Discoveries at Yeavering, Northumberland - Roger Miket and Sarah Semple
YouTube video by NewcastleAntiquaries
www.youtube.com
celticist.bsky.social
Heads up! The brilliant @victoriawhitworth.bsky.social’s Kells book is in Waterstones’ upcoming summer sale. I had the pleasure of engaging with the book when it was being written and it’s splendid - evocative, rigorous, step-changing.

Get your copy on preorder at an excellent price! Code: SUMMER25
Reposted by Dr Christina Cowart-Smith
gefrintrust.bsky.social
Come participate in the 2025 Festival of Archaeology at Yeavering from 1-2 August!

Enjoy guided tours of site, meet Anglo-Saxon reenactors, chat with the Portable Antiquities Scheme, try out geophysical survey, meet the Ad Gefrin Museum team and learn about life in early #Northumbria!