Making more of the history of Glastonbury accessible

Glastonbury is an historic site, a spiritual site, a legendary site, and one that has long held a fascination for me. I was fortunate in the later 1980s and early 1990s to be able to visit it on quite a number of occasions, both on retreat and as a visitor, and to come appreciate more fully the rich and varied events which have shaped the extraordinary life of this small Somerset town.

The BBC News website reported the other day on proposals for a new heritage interpretation centre at Beckery on the edge of Glastonbury. Beckery features in some of the medieval Arthurian romances and archaeological investigation in recent years has established it as the earliest known monastic site in England, dating back to the fifth century

There is a BBC report about the excavations at Beckery which was published in 2016 at Beckery Chapel near Glastonbury 'earliest known UK monastic life'

The new plans for the presentation of the site are outlined at Glastonbury ancient monument to be opened up to the public

Other recent research at Glastonbury has included a comprehensive analysis of the pottery found on the site of the abbey during excavations in the twentieth century. Not only did this reveal locally sourced utensils but also decorated jugs from the Saintonge, probably linked to the fourteenth century Gascon wine trade, and part of a decorated tile from early sixteenth century Seville. This is outlined in a report from the BBC from 2011 at Glastonbury Abbey's pottery link to Dark Ages

Work has also been done on Anglo-Saxon glass found on the abbey site. This is the earliest physical evidence of glass making in the era, although written sources attest to it at the same time at York and Wearmouth. This was reported in 2012, again by the BBC, in Glastonbury Abbey excavations find Saxon glass industry

The wider reinterpretation of the archaeological evidence from the abbey site in Glastonbury following a four year project is summarised in a 2015 report at New research 'rewrites' Glastonbury Abbey history

Not only do all these studies add to our knowledge of the complex history of the site but they demonstrate once again that whenever someone thinks they have said the last word about the myths, origins, and history of Glastonbury they are going to be proved wrong. Glastonbury continues to reveal, or perhaps I should say disclose, its past as an ever more intricate, ever more intriguing, fabric of connections and possibilities.