The Fringe
The Fringe is the heart and soul of every good festival, and we've really put our back into it to make sure DigNation is no exception!
All of these events will be happening in and around the Crossman Hall across the DigNation weekend.
First and most important, you will see *LIVE* archaeology happening! DV has been digging on Lindisfarne for two years, and this season the archaeology is looking HOT. Our trenches will be open during the Festival, and you’ll be able to see our team in action – and who knows? There might be some familiar faces in the trenches who just can’t keep themselves away from the chance to have a wee scratch about…
The Finds Room will be in full swing with the artefacts recovered from DV’s excavations over the past two years, including our famous namestone. We’ll have a handling collection for everyone to touch, and experts on hand to answer your questions. Don’t be shy!
And that’s not all: experts from the Portable Antiquities Scheme will be on hand to identify artefacts (found something mysterious in your garden? Bring it!), there’s a a Street Food festival, the epic DigNation Saturday party, book signings, castle and museum tours, archaeological comedy, plenty of music, aerial landscape photogrammetry demonstrations, digital recording of artefacts, geophysics demonstrations and participation, and (hopefully!) a Young Archaeologist’s Club very special ‘Kids Trench’, and (possibly) some Vikings (shhhh!)
We know that many of you missed out on the Full Festival Ticket to see the lectures, and we’ve got FANTASTIC NEWS: some of our speakers will be joining is for special ‘Follow the Speaker’ sessions, where you’ll be able to meet them and ask questions.
And, you’re sure to see some of your favourite archaeologists wandering about – don’t hesitate to say hello!
Lindisfarne is a magical place, with a fascinating history and plenty of natural beauty. The island is full of secret nooks and wonderful walks, and makes a truly lovely day out for families.
*Live* archaeological excavation and Finds Lab
BOOM! You’re coming to an archaeology festival, so… you want to see some archaeology, right?! We’ve got you covered!
Some of the discoveries our team have made over the past two years of excavation on Lindisfarne are so significant that they have featured in the Guardian, The Times, The Daily Mail and on BBC4’s Digging For Britain programme – the very first time any crowdfunded discovery had been featured on the show. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
We’ve found several Anglo-Saxon burials, a namestone, a monumental wall, the outline of several early medieval buildings, plenty of pottery, and a silver coin minted during the reign of King Eadberht, as well as some curious bone artefacts which seem to be proof that some people continued to live on the island long after the monastery was supposedly abandoned.
We know there’s so much more to discover, and the archaeology we’re poised to unearth in 2018 has the potential to offer huge insight into the lives of those who lived through Lindisfarne’s golden age, endured the Viking attacks and witnessed this transformative period in English history.
As part of the DigNation Fringe, our trenches and Finds Lab will be open all weekend for you to visit and see the action *LIVE* as it happens. We’ll have all the star finds from previous years on display – and as everyone knows, the best stuff always happens in the last hour of the last day of the dig…
The Monster Ceilidh Band
The Monster Ceilidh Band
Monster Ceilidh Band seamlessly blend electronic dance music with traditional folk music and manage to encourage diverse audiences from all over the world to get up and party! Their pioneering mix of Drum ‘n Bass with Traditional Folk has been endorsed by outstanding live performances at award-winning festivals such as Bestival and Secret Garden Party, alongside more familiar folk offering such as Sidmouth and Cambridge Folk Festivals. “The Monsters” now do fully electronic ceilidhs as first showcased at Cambridge Folk Festival with the UK’s leading caller Gordon Potts.
“It’s alive!”
**** Songlines
“An unbeatable live experience”
**** R2
“A leap into the future” fRoots
“Monster Ceilidh Band hurls tradition into the 21st century” Driftwood Magazine (USA)
Follow the Speaker and Book Signings
Hooray! As part of the Fringe, several of our speakers will be doing book signings and participating in ‘Follow the Speaker’ sessions.
Tickets for the lectures theatre were extremely limited and we know that many of you missed out on the chance to grab one. The ‘Follow the Speaker’ sessions are our way of creating an opportunity for you to meet them, ask some questions, share stories, and have a laugh! We will be posting a schedule of the times for each speaker in the lobby of the Crossman Hall each morning, so that you can plan accordingly.
We are very honoured that two of Mick’s closest collaborators, Sir Tony Robinson and Professor Chris Gerrard, will both be doing book signings as part of the Fringe. Please feel free to bring along any of their titles you might already own, and we will also have a slection on sale at the festival for purchase and signing. There’s a couple of other speakers with fairly impressive back catalogs as well and we’re doing our best to twist their arm a little bit….stay tuned!
Lindisfarne Castle and Priory Museum Tours
Lindisfarne’s top two heritage attractions are the Castle, operated by the National Trust, and the Priory Museum, which is run by English Heritage.
As part of the DigNation Fringe, special discounted tours will be offered to both locations at various times across the festival weekend. More information and instructions about how to sign up will be available at Registration.
Archaeological Comedy
Paul Duncan McGarrity
Paul began performing stand up in 2009 and since then has been combining his day-job as a Senior Archaeologist with Museum of London Archaeology with his growing popularity on the UK comedy circuit. He has supported Hal Cruttenden on tour, appeared on on Radio 4, he has been a main cast member in the hugely successful ‘Knightmare Live’ stage show.
‘The hour seemed to fly-by and I felt myself really wanting to stay and hear more.’
Broadwaybaby.com
Aerial landscape photogrammetry and artefact 3D digital recording
Pho
togrammetry has quickly become one of the most essential skills in the 21st-century archaeologists’ toolbag: from trench orthophotos to 3D artefacts, photogrammetry has revolutionised how we work and helped us to do our jobs better.
But not all photogrammatisers (we know it’s not a real word but hey, you know what we mean!) are created equal, and luckily our team works with the very best: Adam Stanford of Aerial-Cam. Adam’s 30 years of experience combines traditional photography skills with cutting-edge digital technologies. He has photographed some of the world’s most iconic sites, including Orkney, Stonehenge and Easter Island, and is involved with many UK-based commercial and research archaeology projects. Adam’s portfolio is a thing of beauty!
DV has worked with Adam across all of our sites from Flag Fen to Victoria Cave, Barrowed Time, Lindisfarne and beyond. The aerial landscape images he captures are an essential part of our work, helpng us to understand each site in its wider context and pick up details impossible to see from the ground.
As part of the DigNation Fringe, Adam will be offering demonstrations, showcasing his work from sites around the world, and giving us all a sneak peek at what’s coming next for archaeolgical photography. Lucky us!
Geofizz whizz, Jimmy Adcock!
In the world of archaeology, Jimmy Adcock really needs no introduction – his reputation precedes him!
All kidding aside, Jimmy is one of the best geofizz whizzes in the business. After many years on John Gater’s Time Team geophysics squad, Jimmy has now moved on to working for an international company that designs and tests new technology for archaeological geophysics, so Jimmy spends his time road-testing (and field-testing, jungle-testing, snow-testing, etc etc) the hottest kit around.
As part of the DigNation Fringe, Jimmy will be surprising us with the latest in geofizz gear, and will be rolling it out across our excavation area so that we can compare how advances in tech are improving the resulst for archaeologists of these non-invasive techniques. You’ll be able to watch him in action and even join in if you fancy it!
Street Food Festival
NOM NOM NOM! We’re working with local purveyors of sunshine in a glass, Lindisfarne Mead, to bring a fine selection of the North East’s street food vendors to DigNation.
The booths will be open for most of the day – through dinner as well – so if you haven’t arranged a table at one of the pubs, you will still have plenty of tasty morsels to sustain you through the weekend.
Remeber: there are NO ATMs on Lindisfarne! Please come prepared with all the cash you might need for food and beverages.
