7th century inscription from Tintagel in Cornwall

Angela

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It's further support, in addition to the finds of imported wine and pottery, that contacts with the greater European world, including the Mediterranean, continued in this corner of England during the so called "Dark Ages".

See:
https://www.archaeology.org/news/6726-180615-england-tintagel-inscription

"The Guardian reports that words and letters were found carved into a seventh-century slate window ledge in a building at Tintagel Castle in north Cornwall. The inscription, thought to have been a doodle or a scribe’s practice work, include the Roman name Tito and the Celtic name Budic. The Latin words fili, or son or sons, and viri duo, or two men, were also carved into the two-foot ledge. A triangle may represent the Greek letter delta. There is also monogram made up of a letter “A” with a “V” inside it and a line across the top. The combination may have been a Christian symbol, since “A,” or “alpha,” was often associated with a Christian description of God. Some of the words were written in the formal script found in illuminated gospel works, while others are informal in style. Win Scutt of English Heritage said the letters support the interpretation of Tintagel as a literate, Christian port with trade ties to Europe and the Mediterranean."

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"Merlin's Cave":
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Tintagel is definitely on my bucket list.
 
Fascinating. The demographic and cultural transition from the Late Roman Empire roughly to the Carolingian Renaissance is still under such a heavy fog, it's probably one of the bits of European history that we have yet to find more surprising answers in the near future, with archaeology, population genetics etc. It increasingly seems like the situation was really complex and multifaceted, neither entirely the "apocalyptical end of the Roman world" hypothesis, nor the "smooth transition and natural evolution" hypothesis.
 

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