Book of Deer's Aberdeenshire monastery mystery finally solved
One of the biggest mysteries in Scottish archaeological history has finally been solved with the discovery of the site of the Monastery in Aberdeenshire, where the first evidence of written Scottish Gaelic that we know of, was scribed in the world-renowned Book of Deer.
A new BBC ALBA documentary, Làrach Leabhar Dhèir | The Missing Monastery, which is being aired on Monday, November 20 followed a dedicated group of archaeologists and volunteers as they painstakingly uncovered artefacts and features which they hoped would lead to the discovery of the site of the Monastery finally being identified beside the ruins of Deer Abbey in Aberdeenshire.
The ancient Book of Deer has been described as one of the most important manuscripts in Scotland and was first written in the 10th century, with a number of Gaelic notes being added by five different monks in Aberdeenshire as late as the 12th century.
The new 70-minute documentary is based around the 2022 archaeological dig in a field near Deer Abbey which was founded in the 13th century (much later than the monastery).
The dig coincided with the Book of Deer manuscript returning to Aberdeen on loan to Aberdeen Art Gallery from the Cambridge University Library.
Gaelic-speaking archaeology graduate Mairead Morgan said: “At the beginning of the 12th century, the earliest evidence of Scottish Gaelic was written in the margins of this Latin gospel book by the monks in a Monastery in Aberdeenshire, a region which is not widely regarded as a Gaelic-speaking region today.
“However, not only does this show that Gaelic was spoken in the region, but it is also the earliest evidence that exists of written Scottish Gaelic by a good 200-300 years, which easily makes the Book of Deer one of the most important manuscripts in Scotland.”
The Book of Deer, returned to its roots in the north-east of Scotland at the newly refurbished Aberdeen Art gallery in 2022 - for the first time in hundreds of years, and is an illuminated manuscript containing parts of the gospels from the Bible in Latin.
Details of local land transactions written by monks in Scottish Gaelic in the margins of the Book of Deer firmly placed the manuscript in this area of Aberdeenshire in the early 12th Century.
While working on the site in the field next to Deer Abbey in 2017 and 2018, archaeologists discovered artefacts mainly dating to the period of the Abbey itself (post-1219 AD), which is much later than the monastery.
Lead archaeologist Ali Cameron, from Cameron Archaeology Ltd, said: “A small number of finds were not possible to date and could have been associated with the monastery.
"A sample from one post-hole was radiocarbon dated to 7th-8th century AD; this was an exciting first piece of evidence that a structure earlier than the Abbey had been found, but one post-hole does not make a monastery, and so the plan for further digs was put in place.
“Previously, efforts to locate the monastery included the digging of more than 30 tests pits at the graveyard of Old Deer Parish Church, which dates from 1780, but is on the site of a 12th-century church.
"We researched the church and excavated trenches but found no evidence of anything earlier than the medieval church and no pre-13th century finds.
“We therefore decided that this was either not the location of the monastery or it was so well buried by 18th-century graves that we would leave it intact for future archaeologists with better non-destructive techniques.”
The latest dig, also commissioned by the Book of Deer Project, focused on the field near the ruined Deer Abbey after a geophysical survey had found "interesting anomalies" underground.
The anomalies included what appeared to be stone rubble.
When the scheduled dates for the dig ended, the team then had to wait for a number of months to see if what they had uncovered was indeed the Monastery.
Archaeologist and PhD student studying the Book of Deer, Alice Jaspars, was a key part of the dig team and said: “It’s almost an unwritten law, but on the last day or the last week of your excavation you’ll always find something really cool!
“We had a feeling about it, but we had this horrible, but exciting sense of anticipation, waiting to see if you have actually found what you think you have found and that painful waiting for the information about the dates is terrible.
“Then Ali, ever so coyly, sent over an e-mail saying – ‘I think you should check the dates’. I open it up and it’s just unbelievable.”
Ali added: “We were getting groups of dates, all within the period we were looking for and would be expecting for a Monastery.
"Immediately I told my partner – Oh my goodness we found the Monastery!
Alice said: “As home to the earliest surviving Scots Gaelic, the Book of Deer is a vital manuscript in Scottish history. While it is not known where the book itself was written, it is believed that the Gaelic in its margins was added in the formerly lost monastery of Deer.
“These addenda include reference to the foundation of the monastery, alongside other land grants in the Northeast of Scotland. It is our belief that in our 2022 excavation, we found the lost monastery where these were written. This would not have been possible without the extensive work of our volunteers, and the financial backing of the NLHF (National Lottery Heritage Fund).
“The material record of monasteries from this period is so poor, that finds such as these can really help to inform our overall academic understanding. This also adds to the ongoing discussion regarding where the Book of Deer is cared for in the future.”
Ali Cameron explained how she approached this dig: “A lot of the rest of the field had been disturbed but we opened such large trenches in 2022 so that we had the best chance of finding early medieval features.
"We spent weeks excavating later material including stone and other demolition material until we got down to the earliest layers and features two weeks before the end of the dig.
“I then led a team of students and volunteers and we systematically cut sections though all the features, collected finds and samples which are important as they are where the charcoal for dating will be. We then waited a few months for the samples to be carefully processed in the University of Aberdeen under the supervision of Dr Gordon Noble and then we had our charcoal.
“We then sent it off to SUERC at East Kilbride where their processing takes three months and then they send the dates by email. When I opened the email I was stunned and had to re-read them several times before I realised what they were telling me”.
Làrach Leabhar Dhèir | The Missing Monastery, will be screened on BBC ALBA at 9pm on Monday 20 November 2023, and will also on the iPlayer for 30 days.
