cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/24131082

Archaeologists have unearthed what they believe to be a Viking-age building in a recent dig.

Teams of volunteers dug up High Tarns Farm in Silloth, Cumbria, in July after crop marks indicated a structure had previously been on the land.

Carbon dating of a timber building they discovered suggested it was a "large hall of the late-Viking age", archaeologist Mark Graham of Grampus Heritage told volunteers.

Mr Graham added the significance of the discovery in shedding light on the early medieval period and social structure in rural Cumbria was "hard to overstate".

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"It seems most likely that the hall is the focus of an early medieval manor farm," Mr Graham said.

He explained the site appeared similar to high status Viking age farms in Denmark, because it encompassed not only the hall but also the social structure and broader agricultural activity associated with them.

Mr Graham s

cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/18872255

A book borrowed from a school library before the first world war has finally been returned – more than a century overdue.

A copy of Poetry of Byron was found by a man in Carmarthenshire, south Wales, who felt it should be returned to St Bees School, near Whitehaven, Cumbria, where it had been lent out to a schoolboy.

Inside the blue clothbound book the name Leonard Ewbank is written, along with the date 25 September 1911. Ewbank, who was born in 1893, was a pupil of St Bees between 1902 and 1911, before going on to study at Queen’s College, Oxford.

Records show that, despite his poor eyesight, he was recruited to the 15th Border Regiment in 1915 to fight in the first world war. He was killed in battle on 23 February 1916 by a bullet to the head and is buried at the Railway Dugouts burial ground in Ypres, Belgium, a cemetery that contains the graves of 2,463 troops.

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Ewbank is commemorated

cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/16154589

Trail cams have been set up in the Cumbria countryside following a reported sighting of a big cat and her cub.

A report came into a dedicated Big Cats Facebook group that a couple spotted the feline, described as a 'large black cat', alongside her cub.

The myth of the elusive 'Beast of Cumbria' is believed to have started when big cats kept as pets in the 1970s were released due to licensing changes.

Big cat expert Sharon Larkin-Snowden, who discovered Panthera DNA on a sheep's carcass in Cumbria in May of this year, posted the latest sighting reported to be by a couple in the group.

The post read: "Exciting news! We have had a few reports of a large black cat and her cub. Both look well and healthy. We now know her whereabouts (lair) and are setting up many trail cams in the vicinity in hope of capturing footage of mum and cub.

cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/14366104

Volunteers are set to take part in a 12-day archaeological dig in the hope of finding signs of medieval life on a farm.

The excavation at High Tarns Farm in Silloth will begin on 22 July.

It will be led by archaeologist Mark Graham and follows his discovery of crop marks on the land, which suggest it was once the site of a large medieval building.

Mr Graham said he was "excited" but warned it could be a let down, adding: "If you're going to be an archaeologist, you better get used to disappointment."

Due to written records, archaeologists have long known that part of the town was once the site of a medieval farm linked to Cistercian monks.

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The marks looked like a "footprint of a large timber building", he said, adding: "I nearly fell off my chair."

He suspected the building was timber as the marks corresponded with holes required for large wooden posts to hold up such a

A video game inspired by the Windscale disaster is set to be released next year.

Atomfall is a survival-action game with horror elements based in a post-nuclear apocalypse version of Cumbria and the Lake District.

Players will be able to explore a dark version of the county’s countryside and interact with cults, rouge government agencies, a military beset with factions and other unusual characters along the way.

West Cumbrian landmarks including Sellafield and the site’s old golf ball building and cooling towers, also make an appearance in Atomfall.

The Fallout-esque game was announced yesterday evening at the Xbox summer showcase and is being developed by Rebellion, best known for the Sniper Elite franchise.

Inspired by the real events of the 1957 Windscale disaster – the game takes place five years after the fire, in a fictionalised quarantine zone.