Archaeologists find ‘missing link’ in history of Fountains Abbey

[Imperial Dave]

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2021/oct/25/archaeologists-find-missing-link-history-fountains-abbey

another interesting find...

[Erpingham]

One of the fascinating things about the Cistercians was their industrial approach to things - these big abbeys would have been an interesting on-site mix of religion, learning, industry and commerce.

[Imperial Dave]

same with tintern abbey...shedloads of ancillary buildings and functional stuff in teh surrounding fgrounds

[Erpingham]

same with tintern abbey...shedloads of ancillary buildings and functional stuff in teh surrounding fgrounds

Likewise Rievaulx.

[Swampster]

And Bordesley Abbey.
My only participation in a dig was at Bordesley. To begin with, they wanted me to sort out slag from stone debris - part of the dig was mapping the extent of the industrial works. I had to wash the stones but not the slag, though the clay meant I couldn't tell it was slag until I washed it
I shifted to bone washing, which was far more interesting.

[Jim Webster]

With Furness Abbey the wealth was wool and the Abbot of Furness dealt with the King of Man as an equal, and the King of England regarded him as a tax evader on a grand scale 

[Imperial Dave]

as all good church leaders were in those days