Glastonbury Abbey: Archaeological Investigations 1904-79

• Main Author: Gilchrist, Roberta (auth)
• Other Authors: Green, Cheryl (auth)
• Format: Electronic Book Chapter
• Language: English
• Published: Society of Antiquaries of London 2015
• Subjects: Religious buildings; History; Archaeology; antiquarian excavations; archaeological investigation; ecclesiastical; buildings; christianity; glastonbury abbey; monastic orders; king arthur; Abbot; Clay; Cloister
• Online Access: OAPEN Library: download the publication; OAPEN Library: description of the publication

This is a comprehensive study of the archaeological archives and artefact collections of Glastonbury Abbey, together with a new geophysical survey of the site. It analyses thirty-six seasons of archaeological excavation directed by such iconic figures as Sir William St John Hope, Sir Charles Peers, Sir Alfred Clapham and Dr Courtenay Arthur Ralegh Radford, and reveals new insights into the abbey's origins and historical development. Previous interpretations are challenged and new evidence is presented for the Saxon and later medieval phases of the abbey, including an important complex of early glass-working furnaces, dated c 700. The study reveals, for the first time, archaeological evidence for the Norman and later medieval monastic ranges and the luxurious abbot's hall and court.