Wearmouth and Jarrow Monastic sites. Volume 2 Appendix C

The twin monastery of Wearmouth and Jarrow achieved European importance in the period between its foundation in the late 7th century and destruction in the mid-9th century. Thius is mainly because of the fame of its most renowned inmate, the theologian and historian, Bede.
The excavated evidence provides important evidence for the evolution of monastic plans in the Christian West in this period. The excavations have also provided some evidence for the econonmic base of such sites, and demonstrated their international contacts, mainly due to the exotic pottery from buildings at Jarrow.
The excavation of the successor monasteries some of the ruined buildings of which still survive at Jarrow has made it possible to consider the local economies of the sites through a period of 1100 years. Changing uses of maritime and regional resources can be demonstrated from the finds, and the cemeteries of the two sites have provided useful long-term demographic evidence from the Early Christian period to the 19th century. It is now possible to see the churches on both sites within the context of first a thriving Anglo-Saxon monastery, then semi-derelict areas, followed by the earliest Norman religious houses in the region, and after that, until the Dissolution, within the context of the dependencies of Durham Priory. Volume 2 is concerned with the description and analysis of the material remains associated with the Anglo-Saxon and medieval occupations. The post-medieval artefacts are not reported on, but all material from the excavations was retained and all artefacts have been listed and some have been fully catalogued and drawn. Only a very small amount of very modern material from superficial deposits was discarded on site, but this too was listed in the site finds catalogues. Catalogues and reports on all the finds exist in the two site archives.