Archinect - News

Archaeologists unearth 'lost' 8th-century monastery ruled by prominent Anglo-Saxon queen

2021-08-19T17:11:00-04:00

Archaeologists at the University of Reading and local volunteers have discovered a long-lost 8th-century Anglo-Saxon monastery in the historic village of Cookham in Berkshire, England. The finding provides unique insight into one of the most prominent women of the early middle ages and potentially her final resting place.

The location of the site has been a long-debated mystery until now. Written records indicate that it was once under the rule of Queen Cynethryth, the widow of the powerful King Offa of Mercia, one of the main Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. She is the only Anglo-Saxon queen known to have been depicted on a coin.

Excavating the grounds of Holy Trinity Church, one of the rumored locations of the monastery, the team uncovered the remnants of timber buildings, which would have housed the inhabitants of the space. They also unearthed a collection of artifacts including food remains, pottery vessels used for cooking and eating, a delicate bronze bracelet, and a dress pin, presum...

Italy shuts down Steve Bannon's "gladiator school for cultural warriors"

2019-06-03T19:39:00-04:00

Italy’s cultural heritage ministry announced on Friday (May 31) that it would revoke a lease granted to Bannon after reports of fraud in the competitive tender process. The former Breitbart chief and aide to US president Donald Trump was reportedly paying €100,000 ($110,000) per year to rent the 13th Century Carthusian monastery, but now will have to search for another spot.

What was once the potential site for a training academy for the far-right, the Italian state evicts the conservative Catholic organization Dignitatis Humanae Institute (DHI) due to reports of fraud. According to a recent report from The Economist, institute director Benjamin Harnwell was shocked by the news, while the former aide to US President Trump stated the letter was "totally legitimate" and "dust kicked up by the left."

The plans for transforming a medieval monastery near Rome into the center for these "cultural warriors" of the far-right included the prospect that students "would learn philosophy, theology, history, and economics, and receive political training from the former Trump aide himself."

Unhappy with the recent news of losing the monastery, DHI plans to fight the decision in court. “The DHI will contest this illegitimate maneuver with every resource at its disposal no matter how many years it takes. And we will win and in the meantime, we relish the opportunity to ...

Destruction of Iraq’s oldest Christian monastery by ISIS militants went unreported for 16 months

2016-01-20T17:01:00-05:00

Iraq’s earliest Christian monastery has been destroyed by Isil extremists. [...] This seems to have occurred in September 2014, three months after the site on the southern outskirts of Mosul was seized by Isil forces. [...] If the near-total destruction of Mar Elia is confirmed, 16 months after the event, it is worrying that it went unreported, since it suggests that other Christian sites may have also been destroyed without publicity.