Seventh century Mull discovery
22 April 2010
Channel 4’s Time Team have made one of their most remarkable finds to date, uncovering the possible remains of a saint on the site of a seventh century Christian chapel on Mull. Aired this Sunday in a new episode, the discovery is all thanks to volunteers from the RCAHMS Scotland’s Rural Past (SRP) project.
SRP supports local communities in investigating abandoned rural settlements, and Mull history hunters Hylda Marsh and Bev Langhorn discovered what they thought to be the ruins of an early chapel while exploring the remains of a rural settlement site with the SRP team. Experts from RCAHMS confirmed that the site was a chapel, probably dating back to the seventh century. SRP and RCAHMS archaeologists then worked with Time Team to help survey and excavate the location near Tobermory.
This Sunday’s episode sees presenter Toby Robinson and his team exploring the site over three days of intense excavation activities. The discovery of the remains of what is thought to be a local saint who brought Christianity to the area marks one of the highlights of the dig.
Tertia Barnett, Scotland’s Rural Past project manager, said, “Having Time Team confirm Hylda and Bev’s discovery to be what we initially thought – a chapel – was an incredibly proud moment and an exciting experience for all at Scotland’s Rural Past. Our volunteers across Scotland often discover other archaeological sites in their search for abandoned rural settlements, and this discovery shows how much there is still to find even close to where we live.”
The chapel remains lie on a Forestry Commission Scotland (FCS) site in an area known as Baliscate, close to a deserted settlement, probably called Balisgate, believed to have been abandoned in the eighteenth century when the town of Tobermory was developing.
Matt Ritchie, Forestry Commission Scotland Archaeologist, said, "This is a really exciting discovery. It has the archaeological potential to tell us a great deal about the development of the early Christian church in Scotland. The turf covered foundations of the chapel are easy to miss - Hylda and Bev did very well to find it. Its early seventh century date is unusual - this is clearly a discovery of national importance."
The excavation of the Mull chapel is featured on Time Team this Sunday at 5:30pm on Channel 4
