What next?
Let’s think about what you might do next If you would like to find out more and investigate some of the themes here in more detail, we’ve put together a …
Course: Archaeology and the Battle of Dunbar 1650: From the Scottish Battlefield to the New World
Let us know what you think
We hope you enjoyed studying about the men who fought at Dunbar, and we would love to hear your thoughts about our course. You will receive a short end of …
The Challenges of Interpretation at Saugus Iron Works
The text below was kindly written by Dr Emily Murphy, Curator of Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site. It is included here with her permission and courtesy of the US …
The challenges of interpretation on the battlefield
Battlefields are significant heritage assets which, if properly promoted and protected, can provide a sense of place, cultural experiences, and economic benefit through tourism. Arran Johnston, of the Scottish Battlefields …
Family history: reaching out to the descendants
Four years after the skeletons were first identified by archaeologists during construction work on Palace Green, the site of their burial is commemorated and the human remains have now been …
Going global: the travelling exhibition
The exhibition at Palace Green Library during the summer of 2018 was on show for four months. The story being told in Durham had attracted strong national and global attention …
Exhibition: discomforting histories
A logical progression from the discovery of the mass graves on the library site in Durham was that the story should be told in an exhibition. As you have already …
Ballads and poetry
In 1886, the very same year that Gow painted his famous picture, a poem by Sarah Orne Jewett was published on the other side of the Atlantic. ‘York Garrison: 1640’ …
History painting
In 1886 British painter Andrew Carrick Gow (1848-1920) painted a famous reconstruction of Oliver Cromwell before his men at Dunbar. Gow specialised in scenes from British and European history, several …
Early writing
As we have seen, contemporary sources for the Dunbar story are scattered through various archives; the most important of these were written or dictated by Oliver Cromwell, the victor on …
The power of re-enactment
Re-enactments of historical events are nothing new. In 1839, as a mania for medieval revival swept through British culture, aristocrats and gentry paraded in medieval armour at the Eglinton Tournament. …
Story-telling in song
In this video The Brothers Gillespie sing one of their songs inspired by the discovery of the Scottish soldiers. You can find the lyrics on the PDF below. Archaeology and …
Performance and film: ‘Origins’
As we have seen, the Scottish soldiers’ story is not confined to north-east England and south-east Scotland. There is potential to explore some of the themes it raises to a …
Theatre: breathing life into history
Co-created in partnership with Durham University’s Archaeology Department in 2018, Woven Bones brought to life the untold stories of the Scottish soldiers in the theatre. This Cap-a-Pie production, written by …
Constructing the past
The discovery of the human remains near Durham Cathedral in November 2013 did not uncover the story of the Dunbar prisoners for the first time. Far from it, the story …
These articles are from the online course:
Archaeology and the Battle of Dunbar 1650: From the Scottish Battlefield to the New World