Project Excavation 2006

Read the full Low Trewhitt Excavation Report from Durham University Archaeological Services (PDF format).

The 2006 Coquetdale Community Archaeology dig uncovered one of Northumberland's oldest monuments; a prehistoric burial cist in a hilltop long cairn. The last dig put a deserted medieval village on the map for Northumberland.

Many of these rural settlement sites are known of throughout the county but very few have seen any archaeological excavation.

Low Trewhitt

The project excavation at Low Trewhitt  © Archaeological Services Durham University

On a south-facing slope above Thropton, a traditional Northumberland farm sits at the confluence of two burns which flow into the River Coquet. But Low Trewhitt Farm, part of the National Trust's Cragside estate, is not typical. This collection of Victorian dwellings is sitting in a landscape full of curious platforms, bumps and troughs below the grass. This was a setting that had provided a good living for millennia, as suggested by a nearby prehistoric burial mound, excavated at the turn of the last century.

Historical records indicate that a village existed here in the medieval period following the Norman Conquest: There are medieval features in the surrounding area and at nearby Netherton and Burradon which were listed in the barony of the powerful Umfraville family at that time. Next to the site, a field with the visible remains of medieval ploughing - ridge and furrow - show as bold corrugations in the pasture.

Coquetdale Archaeology volunteers hard at work

Chris Burgess, County Archaeologist and Harry Beamish, the National Trust Archaeologist for the North East, were keen to see some exploratory work done on the site to establish its importance and help to decide its future management. Under the direction of Peter Carne of Durham University's Archaeological Services, volunteers have investigated the site to see if there was a village at all, and if so, how old it was and why it had been abandoned.

The group began an earthwork survey, learning how to use professional laser-driven surveying equipment to create a plan of the site. From the results, one or two likely features were selected for exploratory trenches and over a fortnight some remarkable and unexpected information came to light.

Volunteers uncover a cobbled road surface at Low Trewitt

Large stone-based platforms and cobbled streets laid out in a grid pattern were revealed along with over 100 pottery finds dating to the 12th and 18th Centuries. This indicates that the site was probably laid out in the eleven hundreds and at some stage, most likely the 15th Century, it fell into disuse, only to be re-occupied again as a farm in the 18th Century.

Pottery fragments found during the excavation © Archaeological Services Durham University