September 26, 2017

Driving through the Anglo-Scottish Borders

Bewcastle

Bewcastle, just north of Hadrians Wall in the Anglo-Scottish borders, is the home of Neolithic settlements dating back as far as 4000 BCE, including a number of cairns and burial mounds which persisted in various forms through the Bronze Age. During the Roman Era, it served as an outpost fort associated with Hadrians Wall, built on the site of a shrine to a native god of war called Cocidius. Later, after Rome had retreated from Britain, a succession of castles would also take advantage of this defensive location, and a church would come to occupy the site of the fort. In the churchyard of St. Cuthbert’s church stands an impressive Anglo-Saxon carved stone pillar. Dating from the late 7th to early 8th c., and executed in a mixture of styles, it is considered one of the great works of art for its time not only in England but in all of Europe. Even worn and damaged as it is, the cross’s artistry is still striking today. The local Bewcastle website has more info and a virtual tour of their museum (where I took some of the guide photos below), and this site offers a virtual model of the cross itself.

It’s sometimes strange to think about the long life of a place which can see communities settle, pass away, migrate, make war, be invaded, transform, and perhaps vanish altogether. And yet that which began as a burial ground and later a sacred shrine, then an imperial fort, has returned to its original purpose, though the names and customs have changed. Places carry the memories of their past inhabitants in their soil, in the artifacts they leave behind, in the monuments they build, and, of course, in their remains. Whether they intend it or not, as they strive in countless ways to survive and thrive, a place’s inhabitants leave impressions of themselves and their aspirations on each place they touch, for good or ill. The impression left by Bewcastle Cross is one of complex and creative beauty—one that attempts to reconcile and unite those disparate elements that preceded it.

What impression will we leave on the places we inhabit?