Half Day Conference

Princess Eadgyth of Wessex and her World

Wednesday 20 January 2010, 14:00 - 17:00
Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, 43 Woodland road

Speaker(s):

In 2008, the probable remains of the Saxon Princess Eadgyth were located in a tomb at Magdeburg Cathedral, her bones wrapped in silk. This conference will be the first opportunity in the UK to hear about this remarkable discover and the scientific project that has been undertaken to confirm the identification of the remains.  It will also place the discovery within the context of late ninth century Merciaand Wessex, where Eadgyth grew up, the role of the Church, and especially the cult of St Oswald, that flourished in tenth-century southern Germany. Free Entrance (but to be sure of a ticket, please contact Professor Mark Horton, Mark.Horton@bristol.ac.uk)

Programme

2.00                Introductory Remarks (Professor Mark Horton, Universityof Bristol)

2.15                 The Editha-Project and its Science (Harald Meller and Veit Dresely, Landesamt für Denkmalpflege und Archäologie Sachsen-Anhalt, Landesmuseum für Vorgeschichte Halle)

3.15                 Eadgyth and the West Saxon Royal Family (Professor Sarah Foot, Universityof Oxford)

3.45                 The Minster of St Oswald's, Gloucester and his cult (Carolyn Heighway, PastHistoric, Gloucester)

4.15                 Anglo-Saxon Berkeley – history and topography (Michael Hare)

5.00                  Reception