A hunt is on in Scotland for an ancient ‘long lost kingdom’. An archeological project near Glasgow has gradually been uncovering the 1,500-year-old Kingdom of Strathclyde – and now, it's looking for volunteers to help out.
The Kingdom of Strathclyde spanned the western side of Britain, from Loch Lomond in Scotland to Penrith in Cumbria between the ninth to 11th centuries. Its original capital was at Dumbarton Rock but when Vikings invaded in AD870, it was moved up to Govan (now part of southwest Glasgow). The kingdom was conquered by the Gaelic-speaking Kingdom of Alba later in the eleventh century before eventually becoming part of the Kingdom of Scotland.
The excavation project has already uncovered the 1,200-year-old intricately carved Govan Stones on the site of Govan Old Parish Church. They’re now on display inside the church and include a sarcophagus, four crosses and five Scandinavian hogbacks shaped like Viking longhouses.
But archeologists believe that the area still has hidden treasure – they suspect it was also used to bury Strathclyde kings. Three weeks of excavations are lined up, with the local community invited to get involved and discover more about their heritage.
Professor Stephen Driscoll of the University of Glasgow is leading the project. He told the the National: ‘What we're doing is systematically working across the graveyard and probing and identifying buried stones. We will be lifting the grass off and then drawing, photographing and recording [what] we find.
He added: ‘We need to build up a body of people to help sustain the building in the future. We need people who are interested, knowledgeable and engaged, and archaeology is kind of an easy way to get people involved.’
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