News

Time Team Reveals Remains of Saint on Mull - Competition Offers Flight with Experts

26 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 Scotland’s Rural Past (SRP).

SRP supports local communities in investigating abandoned rural settlements. The project is run by RCAHMS, the body that collects, records and interprets information on the built heritage of Scotland.

Local history hunters Hylda Marsh and Bev Langhorn had discovered what they assumed to be the ruins of a medieval chapel while exploring the remains of a rural settlement site with the Scotland’s Rural Past 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 area 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 North of Britain 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.”

SRP is now calling for entries for a photography competition, with the top prize being a survey flight with some of the experts who worked with the Time Team.

Tertia added, “We’re now appealing to Time Team fans, budding archaeologists, photographers and anyone interested in recording Scotland’s built heritage to enter a nationwide competition with first prize being a once-in-a lifetime flight with the RCAHMS aerial survey team.”

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 18th century when the town of Tobermory was developing.

Matt Ritchie, Forestry Commission Scotland Archaeologist, said:
 
"This was 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 really well to find it.
 
"Baliscate chapel is a fascinating and important addition to the many ancient and historical sites that are cared for on the national forest estate. Its early seventh century date is really unusual - and this is clearly a discovery of national importance"

Scotland’s Rural Past works with groups, individuals and schools across Scotland to help local people research, record and raise awareness of their rural heritage. The team, based at RCAHMS, continually provides training in skills such as recognising and interpreting historic rural settlement remains in the landscape, recording sites using archaeological survey techniques and photography, and researching old maps and documents.

One lucky winner of the photography competition will have the chance to fly with the RCAHMS aerial survey team on one of their flights over Scotland’s landscape, identifying previously unknown archaeological sites and recording buildings, towns and cities.

Flying in a single engine Cessna 172 aircraft, the RCAHMS team can take up to 4000–5000 photographs each year. These images join over 1.6 million aerial photographs of all aspects of Scotland’s landscape that form part of the National Collection of Aerial Photography held by RCAHMS.

Scotland’s Rural Past is a five-year nationwide project, ending in 2011. The information on historic rural settlements gathered by the volunteers becomes part of the national database of RCAHMS, housed in Edinburgh, and is made publicly accessible via the RCAHMS website search facility Canmore.

-ends-

For further information please contact:
Shaheena Abbas
0131 556 07670 / shaheena.abbas@pagodapr.com
Notes to Editors:
1. RCAHMS stands for the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland. Established in 1908, RCAHMS collects, records and interprets information on the architectural, industrial, archaeological and maritime heritage of Scotland. RCAHMS has a unique responsibility to gather information on the built heritage of the nation, to safeguard the resulting archive to the highest standards and to make this information as widely available as possible.
2. Scotland’s Rural Past is a nationwide project launched and supported by the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS), the Heritage Lottery Fund, the National Trust for Scotland, Historic Scotland, and Highlands and Islands Enterprise. The project was developed through the work of the Historic Rural Settlement Trust which recognised the need to improve our understanding of rural sites and encourage their conservation by involving local people.