Monastery of 7th-Century Scottish Princess (and Saint) Possibly Discovered
Archaeologists and citizen scientists have unearthed what may be the monastery of Princess Aebbe, who was born a pagan but later spread Christianity along the northeastern British coast during the seventh century.
Once the pagan-turned-Christian princess (A.D. 615-668) became an abbess, she established the monastery at Coldingham, a village in the southeast of Scotland. But the monastery was short-lived; Viking raiders destroyed it it in A.D. 870.
Archaeologists have been looking for the remains of this monastery for decades. Excavators have now located a narrow circular ditch, which is likely the "vallum," or the boundary that surrounded Aebbe's religious settlement, DigVentures, a U.K.-based group led by archaeologists and supported by crowdfunding, announced March 8. Citizen scientists help carry out DigVentures' projects. Read more.













