Author | Lightnews

Sam Hogarth 🏳️‍⚧️ @samhogarth26.bsky.social · May 16

Did I buy a Yorkie Easter Egg knowing I was starting T soon to save it for the day I got my first dose to make a joke with my 6 year old self who used to love eating Yorkies because they're "not for girls"?

Maybe.

1

Sam Hogarth 🏳️‍⚧️ @samhogarth26.bsky.social · Mar 3

I really enjoyed Cowboys (2020) and Rurangi (2020)

Sam Hogarth 🏳️‍⚧️ @samhogarth26.bsky.social · Dec 31

But there were also local variations within this theme, with the early Medieval references being specifically tied to local history; this led to the uses of the Early Middle Ages in Northumberland being much more distinctly local than those in Cambridgeshire.

2

Sam Hogarth 🏳️‍⚧️ @samhogarth26.bsky.social · Dec 31

Both counties therefore referenced the early Medieval past in similar ways, with examples in both counties being associated to surviving building fabric of the period, and using figures from a local/regional past to link to ideas of a righteous, national cause more generally.

1 2

Sam Hogarth 🏳️‍⚧️ @samhogarth26.bsky.social · Dec 31

Both memorials also depicted St George in Medieval armour, making another reference to a wider English national identity. The use of Bryhtnoth and Hereward alongside St George could therefore be seen as placing the recent war dead within a milennia long past of local men fighting to defend England.

1 2

Sam Hogarth 🏳️‍⚧️ @samhogarth26.bsky.social · Dec 31

Both Bryhtnoth and Hereward are also figures related to the wider history of England, with both from a period following the unification of England, and known for opposing foreign invasions (Bryntnoth defending against Vikings, and Hereward rebelling against the Norman Conquest).

Close-up image of a stained glass window depicting Hereward the Wake fighting in the leaves at Aldreth. Memorial to the Cambridgeshire Regt. Ely Cathedral.

Close-up photograph of a stained glass window depicting Bryhtnoth of Essex rallying his men before the Battle of Maldon. Cambs Regt. Memorial, Ely Cathedral.

1 2

Sam Hogarth 🏳️‍⚧️ @samhogarth26.bsky.social · Dec 31

The memorial to the Cambridgeshire Regiment in Ely Cathedral, and that in St Mary's Church both depicted figures related to Ely's Early Medieval past, namely Bryhtnoth of Essex (buried at Ely after his death at Maldon) and Hereward the Wake (whose resistance to the Normans took place around Ely).

A three-light square-headed window. The left-hand light depicts St George, shown standing above and slaying the dragon below. The central light depicts St Michael, with the crucifixion beneath. The right hand light depicts bryhtnoth of Essex, shown being brought to Ely after death beneath.

A three-light pointed window. The left-hand light depicts St George in the upper pottion and Hereward the Wake fighting at Aldreth beneath. The central light depicts Christ in the upper portion and the crucifixion beneath. The right half light depicts St Martin in the upper portion and Bryhtnoth of Essex rallying his men before the Battle of Maldon beneath

1 2

Sam Hogarth 🏳️‍⚧️ @samhogarth26.bsky.social · Dec 31

I found a similar use of the local past in the Early Medieval references in Cambridgeshire. I identified 2 memorials referencing the period, both of which were in Ely, a city founded in the early Middle Ages around a seventh century monastery.

1 2

Sam Hogarth 🏳️‍⚧️ @samhogarth26.bsky.social · Dec 31

The use of St Oswald in Northumberland may therefore be a local variation on a more national theme of using medievalism in war memorials to suggest the dead had died for a worthy cause

1 2

Sam Hogarth 🏳️‍⚧️ @samhogarth26.bsky.social · Dec 31

References to the idea of just and righteous conflict were fairly common on First World War memorials, with images of Crusaders and chivalrous knights (often doubling up as St George) some of the more popular designs for statue and window memorials.

Newcastle and District war memorial. A statue of St George on horseback slaying a dragon from above atop a tall platform. A lion is carved into the platform beneath the dates 1914-1918 and 1939-1945.

1 1

Sam Hogarth 🏳️‍⚧️ @samhogarth26.bsky.social · Dec 31

In early twentieth century histories, Oswald's wars with Penda are often depicted as a holy war, meaning his depiction on the memorial would suggest the local war-dead died in a similar righteous struggle.

1 2

Sam Hogarth 🏳️‍⚧️ @samhogarth26.bsky.social · Dec 31

These memorials, in the villages of Whittingham and Longhoughton, both depicted St Oswald raising a cross, a reference to his victory over the pagan King Penda of Mercia in the Battle of Heavenfield.

A two-light stained glass window, depicting St George as a Roman soldier on the left, and St Oswald raising the cross on tbe left. St Peter and St Paul's Church, Longhoughton, Northumberland.

A single-light lancet window depicting St Oswald raising the cross. Whittingham, Northumberland.

1 2

Sam Hogarth 🏳️‍⚧️ @samhogarth26.bsky.social · Dec 31

In both counties, I found strong links to the local Early Medieval past, in both the siting and content of the memorials. My two examples from Northumberland, for example, were both situated in churches with surviving pre-Conquest fabric, albeit fragmentary.

A semi-circular arch looking into the west tower of a church. A font sits in the middle of the tower room, and a lancet window above and behind it.

View of the Whittingham Parish war memorial, Northumberland.

1 2

Sam Hogarth 🏳️‍⚧️ @samhogarth26.bsky.social · Dec 31

I talked about some of my work on Medievalism in the First World War memorials of Cambridgeshire and Northumberland, developing some of my dissertation research to specifically discuss the representation of the Early Middle Ages in war memorials.

1 2

Sam Hogarth 🏳️‍⚧️ @samhogarth26.bsky.social · Dec 31

I had a great time in Leeds discussing my research with others, and meeting other scholars working on Medievalism. As a first-time delegate I was blown away by how welcoming everyone was.

1 3

Sam Hogarth 🏳️‍⚧️ @samhogarth26.bsky.social · Dec 31

As 2024 draws to a close, I wanted to reflect on one of my favourite parts of the year: presenting my first conference paper at the IMC in July.

1 3

Sam Hogarth 🏳️‍⚧️ @samhogarth26.bsky.social · Dec 25

Quite proud of this game of Jenga

A precariously balanced 29-layer Jenga tower

2

Sam Hogarth 🏳️‍⚧️ @samhogarth26.bsky.social · Dec 22

Got to dig *somewhere* with interesting archaeology in a commercial world of blank evals and sterile pits and ditches...

1

Sam Hogarth 🏳️‍⚧️ @samhogarth26.bsky.social · Dec 22

You might notice the thread ends in August... it's been fairly boring since then...

1 1

Sam Hogarth 🏳️‍⚧️ @samhogarth26.bsky.social · Dec 22

All in all, it's been a pretty decent year on the archaeology front, so here's to hoping I find some equally cool stuff in 2025!

1

Sam Hogarth 🏳️‍⚧️ @samhogarth26.bsky.social · Dec 22

There was also a rather nice cow skull sticking out of my section about half-way down, which was quite satisfying to dig. It did fall apart not long after I took it out of the ground, but I managed to get some nice pictures first.

An upside-down cow skull partially excavated

An upside down partially excavated cow skull

An excavated cow skull the right way up on top of a baking tray and laid on the ground. Some tools sit in the background.

1 1

Sam Hogarth 🏳️‍⚧️ @samhogarth26.bsky.social · Dec 22

Moving now to August, I dug another large pit with some interesting contents. It contained a lot of burnt flint, bone, and prehistoric pot, and also had a really distinct shape with near-vertical sides and a flat base.

Photograph of a large half-sectioned pit, with a cow-skull sticking out of tbe section around half way down.

1

Sam Hogarth 🏳️‍⚧️ @samhogarth26.bsky.social · Dec 22

Digging an SFB has been on my archaeological bucket list for a while, so I had a great time digging this. I got some nice finds out of it too, including this rather nice pin beater (used in textile production), and this cruciform brooch from one of the post holes.

A bone pin-beater (a long, thin stretch of bone tapering at both ends) held upright with a finger and thumb

A bone pin-beater held sideways by a gloved hand

A cruciform brooch sat on a gloved hand. Where the cross is there is a lump of rusty material.

A cruciform brooch laid on a gloved hand.

2 3

Sam Hogarth 🏳️‍⚧️ @samhogarth26.bsky.social · Dec 22

Not long after I dug a sunken feature building (SFB). They're a type of building common in post-Roman eastern England where a pit would be excavated and a wooden superstructure built over the top. More information on this site's SFBs can be found here www.oxfordarchaeology.com/blog/update-...

A reconstruction of a sunken feature building

An SFB excavated in quadrants with a 2m scale across the middle.

A fully-excavayed SFB with two post-holes and a 1m and 2m scale in the centre.

A plan drawing of a fully-excavated SFB.

1 1

Sam Hogarth 🏳️‍⚧️ @samhogarth26.bsky.social · Dec 22

The general idea is that a fire would be set under a wooden platform with flint on top, and once the platform collapsed due to the fire, meat could be slow-roasted on the flint.

A half-sectioned fire-pit revealing a dark fill full of burnt flint. 1m scale above the section.

1