Evidence of town found on Iona dig
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Archaeological evidence revealed for the first time yesterday indicates that the Scottish island of Iona, famous as the cradle of Christianity in Scotland, may have been more than just a small- scale secular community in its early days, writes James Cusick.
Excavations on the island, the burial ground of 60 Scottish kings, show Iona may well have grown into a large community comprising not just monks but probably a small 'university' town, established more than 300 years before either Oxford or Cambridge were founded.
The evidence that could mean a re-evaluation of the organisation behind Christianity's spread from Iona throughout northern Europe was presented at Glasgow University, and was based on excavations beneath St Ronan's, a 13th- century church.
Jerry O'Sullivan, an archaeological consultant working on the project, said: 'It may have been a monastic town with farmers and so on, and may not have been exclusively a male domain.'
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments